Saint Tail 2: The Next Generation
by sanakito
Summary: Saint Tail 2 is finally here! Da da da da! All I can tell you is that Meimi and Daiki have a daughter...FINAL & EPILOGUE UP!
1. Chapter 1

Detective Meiki Asuka (Saint Tail 2: The Next Generation)

Hey! It's Sanakito. I was wondering how it would be if there was a Saint Tail 2! ^^

Well, I don't own Megumi Tachikawa's characters, but I own everyone else...hope you enjoy!

Case 1: Alias.

Meiki Asuka has just entered middle school...

"Morning, Meiki," Seira said (It's not Seira Mimori, it's her daughter).

"Hey, Seira. How's the training going?" (She's not training to be a nun, she's training to be a martial artist)

"Great!"

"Cool."

"Meiki, someone came by yesterday...and--" Then, the boys enter the room.

"Time to check out the beautiful girls," one boy said. Every girl in the classroom heard that and looked at who would say such a thing. Then, they saw him: Flaming red hair, red eyes and his school uniform. Everyone couldn't help but stare at this sculpture of pure beauty.

"Oh my g--"

"Don't even say that," The Sister said, coming in after them. "If you boys are done, we have to get on with the lesson..." They sat down. Meiki went to her lesson and listened to what the teacher had to say.

"Can anyone answer this question on the board for me?" She gladly raises her hand and answers the question correctly. "Very good..."

"Thank you."

"You must have smart parents..."

"I do." Then, Meiki was on display throughout her class.

"You're kinda cute," a boy said. She looked at the boy and scowled her face. She then returns to her seat. iThe nerve of that guy.../i She thought.

After class, as she was packing up with her best friend, Seira, she was met by a pair of red eyes.

"Hey there," He said, nonchalantly.

"Hi."

"I'm Kurama, Minoru Kurama."

"Asuka. Meiki Asuka."

"Yes, I'm a big fan of your father..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He once saved my sister's life..."

"Oh..."

"I was wondering if--" Then, his cell phone rings. "Excuse me a moment." He walks off and answers the call.

"Seira, what do you think he was about to ask me?"

"You're the detective...you figure it out."

"Well, let's see...he might've been asking if he'd like an autograph, or if he wanted to meet my father, or--"

"Meiki, you're clueless sometimes, you know that?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"He was gonna ask you out, silly."

"You mean...the 'D' word?"

"Yeah." Then, he walks back.

"Hey. Sorry about that. Anyway, I was wondering if you could introduce us. I'd like to thank him properly...if that's Ok with you..." She looks at Seira and Seira just shrugs.

"So I was wrong..." She said.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Nothing," Meiki quickly answered. "I would love to, but my dad's kinda overseas right now..."

"Oh. Well, when he comes back, could you let me know?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." He leaves.

They were walking over to her house when Meiki collided with someone, forcing her to the ground.

"Are you Ok?" They said, picking her up.

"Yes...I--" Then she recognizes the boy. "You're that boy who..."

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. I didn't mean to offend you..."

"Whatever. Seira, let's go." They left.

"What was so bad about saying that you looked cute?" She asked.

"That's something your parents would say to you. I don't want a boy saying that to me..."

When they got to Meiki's house...Meimi, her mother answers the door.

"Hey, girls. Seira, your mother's here."

"Oh. Ok." They walk in. They see the nun in her white outfit with the fish Sawatari gave to her years ago. "Hi, mom."

"Hey. How was your first day at school?"

"It was great! I answered a question on the board! And got it right!" Meiki said.

"That's wonderful," Seira's mom said. "The board...doesn't that bring back memories, Meimi?"

"No..." She said, pouting.

"Meiki, you mother here was--"

"Seira, don't..."

"Oh, c'mon. You shouldn't be embarrassed by it now. After middle school, you were beating your husband's scores."

"Really? Mom, is that true?"

"Blame your father for constantly nagging me about work, work, work."

"Hey, I resent that," a voice said, walking in.

"Daddy!" She runs and holds him.

"Heh heh. Nice to see you, too. Hey, Seira and Seira."

"Hi." They both said.

"You two and that strange connection of yours...I'll figure it out and stay connected to little Mei here."

"Dad!"

"Hey, honey," Meimi said.

"Meimi..." He walked over to his wife. "I missed you..."

"I missed you, too..." They get all lovey-dovey.

"Do they always do that?" Seira asked.

"Yeah. It's so sweet, but revolting, too."

"Your mother told me her parents were the same way," Seira recalled. Then, they hear the sound of a car horn. "C'mon, Seira, your father's here to take you to Karate practice."

"Ok. See ya, Meiki."

"Later, Seira." They leave.

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"There was this boy in school..."

"Boy!?" Her father said. "Who is it? Did they hurt you? Where can I--"

"Calm down," Meimi told her husband. "What happened, Mei?"

"Well, he...called me 'cute'."

"But honey you are cute. What's the problem?"

"That is the problem!"

"Oh. I get it," her father replied. "Since we call you cute, when the boy said it, it reminded you of us saying it, thinking of it more of an insult than a compliment."

"Exactly."

"That's my detective," Meimi said, holding him.

"Heh heh."

"You two belong together," she said, making her way to her room.

"Well, when she's right, she's right," Meimi said.

As Meiki and Seira are getting used to the school their parents were attending years back...

"Hey, Detective Girl," a boy said.

"What?" She shouted.

"Figure this out." He hands her a Rubix Cube. She places it behind her back and plays with it a little. Then, she gives it to him.

"Here. Satisfied?" He looked at it. All the colors were where they should be.

"Wow...that was amazing," a familiar voice said. "for a girl..."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" She said, outraged.

"I'm just saying, that was pretty good...and kinda fast."

"So what? Are you saying I cheated somehow?"

"Maybe..."

"Why you--"

"Asuka! Saila! Outside, now!" They both go out slowly, with the buckets of water.

"Great, you got me in trouble, Saila!"

"It's Seiji. Anyway, we wouldn't be out here if you weren't so loud..."

"What!?"

"See? You're doing it again..."

"Oh..." Silence. Five minutes later...

"All right, you two, no more foolishness..."

"Yes, Sister," They said simultaneously and took their respective seats.

During lunchtime, Meiki sat down with Seira and a bunch of other girls as they go along talking about boys, when Meiki looked across the lunchroom and saw the delinquent, Seiji, at the table with Minoru. iHe knows Minoru? Oh yeah! I should tell him that my dad had came back from overseas!/i She gets up and walks over to the boys' table.

"And so--"

"Ahem..."

"Yes? Oh...hello."

"Hi. Um...just to let you know, my father came back from overseas...if you still would like to thank him..."

"Yes. I would. Will you wait for me after school today?"

"Ok. See you then."

"Later," Seiji said, but she said nothing and walked away.

"Bad with the ladies, Sei?"

"Oh, shut up..." They boys laughed. As Meiki was walking back over, all the girls from the table ganged up on her.

"Did you ask Minoru out?" One girl said.

"What did he say?" Another girl said.

"What are you all talking about? What I went over there for is none of your businesses..."

"Hmph!" They said, moving away from the table, leaving only her and her best friend.

"So what happened?"

"I'm waiting for him after school so he could go to my house and thank my father for saving his sister's life."

"Oh. That's nice. What about the other boy? Did he say anything?"

"I don't know...I don't care, either."

Bell rings for the ending of school, and Minoru waits for Meiki at the door.

"Hey."

"Hi. Ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'm a little nervous, though."

"You'll be fine," Seira said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Minoru Kurama."

"Seira Saruwatari."

"Nice to meet you." The girls notice that Meiki was walking with Minoru. They all are shocked and snuck behind the gates.

"Did you see that?" One girl said.

"That girl...she's such a liar!"

"Don't worry, girls," A tall girl said. "Tomorrow, we'll make her pay."

"Yeah," The girl, whose name was Chika, came up with a plan, but they didn't know that someone overheard their plan.

They all walk to Meiki's house. "Do you go with her often?"

"Every day, yes." They walk to her door.

"We're here!" She said, opening the door. "Dad?"

"Yeah?" He shouted.

"Someone wants to see you..."

"Who?"

"It's someone special..."

"Is it your mother?"

"No." He comes down and sees them. "Hey guys. Are you the special one she's referring to?"

"Yes, sir..."

"You listen here, buddy, if you ever hurt my sweet Meiki..."

"Dad! He's not my boyfriend...he's here to thank you."

"Huh?"

"You saved my sister a few months ago from that rapist. I just came over to thank you..."

"What is your sister's name?"

"Sana."

"Kurama?"

"Yes."

"So you must be Minoru..."

"Yes, I am."

"I was just doing my job, Minoru. Protecting those who need protecting."

"Thank you again, sir."

"Don't mention it."

"Well, I guess I'll see you girls tomorrow?"

"Oh...Ok." They said. He leaves.

Next morning, when they arrived at the school, Meiki noticed a piece of paper on her desk.

"Huh? What's this?"

"Read it," Seira said.

"Detective, be careful after school...huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"The rest is in numbers...figure it out before lunchtime or this message would have been of no use. Alias?"

"Alias? Who's that?"

"There's no one in the class named Alias..."

"I know. Who is this person?"

"Well, whoever he is, he seems to you know you a little. He knows of your detective ability of figuring stuff out, and he's given you a secret code for you to crack."

"Hmm..."

"Can you crack it?"

"Let's see..."

81 42 32 93 91 43 53 53 81 63 74 74 23 21 73 81 63 62 74 63 33 61 43 53 52 21 81 93 63 82;74 63 43 91 63 82 53 31 74 82 41 41 32 74 81 81 42 21 81 93 63 82 21 62 31 93 63 82 73 33 73 43 32 62 31 42 21 83 32 53 82 62 23 42 63 62 81 42 32 73 63 63 33.

81 42 32 73 32 , 93 63 82 91 43 53 53 33 43 62 31 21 62 63 81 42 32 73 61 32 74 74 21 41 32.

During class, she couldn't figure it out at all, then...she saw Minoru checking out his cell phone. Then it hit her... iThat's it! These numbers are actually letters used on the telephone! The first number represents the digit pressed and the second number represents the letter's order on the telephone!/i She pulls out a sheet of paper and writes down the number encryption. iOk...81...8 digit, first letter...T. 42...H. 32...E. 93...Y. T-H-E-Y, They!/i She soon figures out the rest of the code and when she did, coincidentally, the lunch bell rang. Seira was about to head out, when Meiki stops her.

"Huh? Meiki, is something wrong?"

"The message. Look." She shows her the message deciphered.

"Oh..."

"I think we should take their advice...let's have lunch on the roof."

"Ok." They go up to the roof and ate lunch.

Meanwhile in the lunchroom...

"Where is that girl? She's supposed to have been here by now..." Chika said, madly disappointed.

"She must've went home or something," a girl named Ren said.

"Yeah, she got scared," her twin, Ten, agreed.

"Ladies, calm down...she can't hide forever..." As the girls were speaking of another plan, the boys walked by and they stopped their conversating. "Hi, guys..." They all said.

"Hello, ladies..."

"Hi, Minoru..." They all said.

"Talking about me?"

"Oh, no..."

"We would never..."

"I'm touched. Oh, twins," Minoru said. "I've never seen twins before..."

"I'm Ren."

"And I'm Ten." They said.

"Ren and Ten. Catchy. And who's this beautiful girl?"

"The name's Chika. It's actually Chikara."

"Such a powerful name...right, guys?"

"Yeah. It's got so much meaning..." Seiji quickly said. "Power to be rich, controlling, obnoxious..."

"Sei! That's rude! Chika, please forgive my best friend. He can be a bit sarcastic..."

"It's Ok."

"Thank you. Let's go, guys." They go back and sit at their seats.

Meanwhile, on the roof...

"This is nice," Seira said.

"Yeah. We should have lunch here everyday..."

"Ok." Then, Meiki remembered the rest of the note. She starts looking around. "Meiki?"

"The note said that there would be another note some--" Then, she sees it, inside one of the holes at the gate. She takes it and opens it. "Good job figuring out the code. Memorize it. For any other messages I give you will only be in that form. Now get to class. Alias." Then, the bell rung. "Huh?" iWhoever this person is...they're good...a mystery within the mystery...mark my words, Alias...I will find out who you are. Even if it takes me years...I will figure out who you are./i

End of Case 1


	2. Chapter 2

Detective Meiki Asuka (Saint Tail 2: The Next Generation)

Chapter 2 is up! YEAH!  
(Still, don't own the Saint Tail characters, but I own everyone else. Enjoy!)

Case 2: Secret Weapon?

"Morning, Seira," Meiki said.  
"Morning, Meiki," Seira replied. "Any notes from your little protector?"  
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing..."  
"Heh heh, sounds like someone has a stalker," a voice said.  
"Huh?" She turns around and sees Seiji. "You...what do you want?"  
"Nothing. Just overheard your conversation. You should be careful..."  
"I'm always careful. I'm a detective-in-training..."  
"I didn't see you at lunch last week..."  
"So what?"  
"Nothin', geez, I was just wondering if you were lost or something..."  
"Lost!? Why you--"  
"All right, that's enough," The Sister said, coming in. "I won't have that tolerated in my class."  
"Sorry, Sister," They both said.  
"Good. Now, sit down." They sat down in their seats. iOoh! I don't like that boy...why am I even speaking to him!?/i She thought. Then, she noticed that some girls weren't looking at her too nicely. iWhy are they looking at me that way?/i  
iJust wait, Meiki Asuka,/i Chika said, iWe'll get you.../i

After school.  
"Seira? Did you notice those girls staring at me?"  
"Yeah...looks like you have enemies."  
"What? I've done nothing wrong..."  
"They're Minoru's fan club. Remember when you went over to the boys' table last week? I guess they're jealous...for what, I'm not sure."  
"Me, neither."  
"Meiki, I can't walk with you today. Mom told me that dad wouldn't be able to pick me up from your house, so she wants me to stay at the chapel with her. Sorry."  
"It's Ok. You don't have to apologize."  
"Well...see ya."  
"Bye." She starts walking alone. Then, she notices those same girls walking to her. iWhat do they want?/i  
"Hello, Meiki."  
"Hello, whoever you are."  
"Chika. These are my friends, Ren and Ten."  
"What do you want?"  
"Nothing. We just wanted to talk."  
"About what?"  
"Minoru. We just want you to know that he'll never be yours..."  
"What?"  
"You heard me..." Then, the girls grabbed her.  
"Huh? Let me go!"  
"Be warned, Asuka. If we even catch you near him..." Then, a piece of paper is thrown at her. "What the--Who did that?" They looked around. No one in sight. "C'mon girls. I think she got the message..." They let go of her and left. She's got fear in her eyes, then she remembered the piece of paper. She picks it up and unravels it. iAlias was here...but where?/i She starts looking around alleys and across the streets. iThey're really good.../i "Detective, know that I can't always be there for you...this may be a fight you'll have to deal with on your own. I will provide a suggestion to you:  
21 74 52 93 63 82 73 33 73 43 32 62 31,74 32 43 73 21 81 63 81 32 21 23 42 93 63 82 42 63 91 81 63 33 43 41 42 81.  
i...Hmm...Alias, I just might.../i She goes back to the chapel.

"Hey, Meiki," Seira's mom said. "What are you doing here?"  
"Is Seira here?"  
"Of course I am," she said. "Hee-hee. She's in the back."  
"Thanks."  
"I'm sensing something, Meiki. Did something happen?"  
"Well..." Trusting her best friend's mother, she tells her what happened earlier today.  
"Oh my. That's horrible...Meiki, listen to me. You don't need Seira's help with this...tell your mom about these girls..."  
"No, I can't...and you can't, either. It'd be too embarrassing..."  
"That's kinda why we're here, Meiki. To make it less embarrassing. Seira always comes to me whenever she has a problem...which is hardly. Trust me. Your mom will know how to handle this problem. She's got...a bitrick/b/i or two she could show you."  
"Huh?"  
"Just go."  
"...Ok."

She goes home.  
"Mom?"  
"Yes, honey?"  
"There's something I gotta tell you..."  
"What is it?"  
"There are these girls, and they've threatened me not to see a boy..."  
"You're seeing someone?"  
"What!?" Her father said, coming out immediately."Who is it!?"  
"Dad! Stop! I'm not seeing anyone...you remember Minoru?"  
"Yeah."  
"They think I'm trying to take him away from them."  
"Are you?"  
"No. I'm not trying to feel anything for anybody...anyway, Seira's mom said to come to you. She said you have a trick or two you could show me..."  
"Oh..." Meimi looks at her husband. "Daiki..."  
"Go ahead."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah. She's gonna find out, anyway. Might as well tell her."  
"Tell me what?" Meimi then tells her daughter. "Mom...wow! You were the legendary thief Saint Tail!?"  
"Yeah..."  
"Did you ever get caught?"  
"Yeah. Your father caught me..."  
"Wow...dad was even great then..."  
"Yep. I guess...I could show you a trick or two. Just promise me you won't do what I did..."  
"I promise."  
"All right." She shows her some tricks.  
"You've still got it," her husband acknowledged. "I remember that trick..."  
"Yeah. Sweet memories..." He goes to her.  
"If we could go back to that time, I'd do it all over again..."  
"Daiki..." They start to kiss. iLet me get out of here.../i She goes to her room. iWatch out, girls...I've got a trick up my sleeve./i

Next morning.  
"Hey, Meiki," Seira said.  
"Hey, Seira. You won't believe what I learned yesterday..." She tells her in her ear.  
"No way...really?"  
"Yeah. I was shocked, too!" Then, she sees Minoru. "Excuse me a moment, Seira." She walks over to Minoru. "Ahem..."  
"Oh. Hey, Meiki."  
"Hi."  
"Did you want something?"  
"No, just came to say good morning..."  
"What about me?" Seiji said.  
"What about you? Baka!" She turns around and leaves. The girls noticed the sudden gesture.

After school...coincidentally, Seira had to stay with her mom again in the church. Meiki was walking home alone again, when she sees them. iLike mom would say: 'It's Showtime!'/i She thought as she turned around a corner. The girls quickly followed to the same alley, but found that she disappeared.  
"Huh? Where'd she go?" chika said.  
"She...vanished." Ren said.  
"Creepy," Ten said. When they took one more step, they tripped to the floor on the invisible wire she planted. "What the--"  
"Where are you!?" Chika shouted.  
"Right here." She said, holding a wand, spinning it.  
"Why you--" They go running for her. She smiles. They went in to punch her, but.  
"One! Two! Three!" She waves the wand and suddenly a bunch of pigeons came and flew all over them.  
"Ahh!" Ten screamed.  
"Get them off!" Ren shouted.  
"Grrr..."  
"Give up?" Meiki said with a grin.  
"Yes!" The twins said. The pigeons vanish...and so does she. "Huh? Where'd she go?"  
"She disappeared!" They turn their heads to Chika. "We give up...I'm not messing with her anymore."  
"Me, either," The other agreed.  
"Fine! I'll take care of her myself..." They ran home. iIt's not over, Meiki Asuka. Mark my words: Minoru will be mine.../i She walks home. Meiki, who was above the building, heard it all. iI sooo owe you, Mom./i Then, she sees a paper airplane. iHuh? Could it be.../i She tries to reach it but couldn't and fell off the roof.  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" She screamed. Then, she's caught. She then opens her eyes.  
"What happened? Are you Ok?" It was Seiji.  
"...Yes. Thank you..."  
"It was nothing. Here." He said, giving her the airplane. "You shouldn't be crazy enough to risk your life over a piece of paper..."  
"Huh?"  
"I have to get home. Goodbye." He sets her down and leaves. She looks back, then shook her head a bit and opened the airplane.  
"Well, Detective, I'm impressed. A secret weapon...use it well, but be warned.  
91 43 81 42 41 73 32 21 81 71 63 91 73,23 63 61 32 74 41 73 32 21 81 73 32 74 71 63 62 74 43 53 43 81 93.  
iWith great power, comes great responsibility./i  
"Detective, I will call you soon...until then, continue on your quest to find the truth...wherever it may be. Alias." iThis person...is quite...poetic. I'll be looking forward to your call, Alias.../i

End of Case 2

Case 3 will be up Monday...-ish. 


	3. Chapter 3

Yo, it's sanakito! Good to be back...

Case 3: Seira

"Winner: Seira Saruwatari!" Meiki, her parents and seira's parents all cheer her on.  
"All right, Seira!" Meiki shouted. She looks over to her best friend and gleams a smile.  
"Look at her," Manato said to his wife. "Our little martial artist..."  
"I still thought she could make a great nun," her mother said. "but she didn't want to."  
"She could become a nun, too. Just imagine: A martial nun! Wow..."  
"Manato, snap out of it!" He breaks from his delusion. "You and those fantasies of yours..."  
"Heh heh..."  
"Seira, I'm curious," Meimi said. "How did little Seira get into this?"  
"Well...do you remember that trip to the U.S.?"

Flashback

"Wow! What is that, mom?"  
"That's America, sweetie."  
"It looks so...big."  
"It's bigger than Japan."  
"Why are we going here?"  
"We're going to see Meimi's long-time cousin, Alex."  
"I haven't heard from him since he got married."  
"Who knows, Seira?" Her mother said. "Maybe you'll see something you like while you're there..."

The plane lands at the American Airport.  
"Welcome to America!" An employee told all the passengers. "We hope you all enjoy your trip here in the U.S.." They went out the airport and saw a man with a black suit and shades holding a card with their names on it. They walk to him. He escorts them to the black limosine, which takes them to their desired location.

When they arrived there, they saw how big the house was.  
"Whoa...your cousin lives here?"  
"I guess." She answered. "Let's go." They all walk to the door and Meimi knocked on the door. A woman answers it. "Hello."  
"Hi. Can I help you?"  
"I'm Meimi Asuka. We're here to see my cousin, Alex."  
"You're his cousin? Wow. I'm Angela, his wife. It's nice to finally meet you. He has told me a lot about you, but he's not here right now. Hold on, I'll let him know you're here." She just looks up.  
"Huh?" Little Seira asked. "What is she doing?"  
"That's called telepathy, dear."  
"Your cousin knows telepathy?"  
"Yes." She then looks at them.  
"He'll be here soon. Please come in and wait for his arrival. He always comes at 3:23 for some reason..." They all went in. "So, who's your friends?"  
"This is my husband, Daiki, my daughter, Meiki, my best friend, Seira, her husband, Manato and their little Seira."  
"We have a daughter, too."  
"What? I have a baby cousin!? Where?"  
"Hang on...Leslie!" She comes down.  
"Yeah, mom?"  
"Leslie, this is your father's cousin, Meimi, from Japan." She bows.  
"Oh...I'm honored." She gets up and bows back. "This is your baby cousin, Meiki."  
"Hi."  
"Nice to meet you."  
"And this is her friend, Seira."  
"Hello."  
"Hi."  
"Why don't you girls go play something in Leslie's room upstairs?"  
"Ok!" They all go up the stairs.

In Leslie's room.  
"Wow, it looks great."  
"Thanks."  
"Who's that?" Seira asked, looking at a picture of two Asian people. "You like Kung Fu movies?"  
"Yeah. That's Jackie Li and Jet Chan. They autographed that picture."  
"Wow...you actually met them?"  
"Yeah. It was awesome. I have their entire collection. You wanna watch some?"  
"Sure."  
"Couz?"  
"Huh?"  
"How about you?"  
"I don't mind." She puts on a movie and they saw the moves. Seira was hypnotized by the moves. "Seira? Seira!" She breaks out of her trance. "The movie ended..."  
"Oh!"  
"Looks like I've made a new fan."  
"The moves...so many moves..."  
"I know, and they can be learned...I'm currently at this training center. If you'd like we could go tomorrow."  
"Really?"  
"Well, it would depend. How long are you staying?"  
"I don't know."  
"We'll only be here for two days. Today and Tomorrow. We leave tomorrow night."  
"Well, then we don't have much time...how about this? I'll teach you what I know now, and we'll go to the training center tomorrow..."  
"You would teach me?"  
"Sure."  
"Ok!" Then, Meiki noticed something.  
"Oh my god! You have mystery movies, too?"  
"Yeah. Dad said you would like those..."  
"Huh?"  
"Well, your mom has told my dad about your likes and dislikes already, so...he bought them...just for you."  
"Wow...could I watch them?"  
"Of course. They're yours."

Back downstairs.  
"Honey, I'm home!" He said. She walks to him and they kiss.  
"What time is it?" Daiki asked. Meimi looked at her digital watch.  
"3:23...on the dot."  
"Whoa..." Manato said.  
"That's my cousin," Meimi said.  
"Meimi...wow...it's really you."  
"Hey. How's everything?"  
"Fantastic. So you two got married. Congrats. What happened to your hair? It was so beautiful long..."  
"I told her to cut it short so...you know..."  
"Right. Seira, is that you?"  
"Hey, Alex."  
"And you must be Manato."  
"How'd you know that?"  
"My wife told me."  
"Oh."  
"Nice to meet you. You're one lucky man."  
"You don't have to tell me."  
"I heard you have kids..."  
"They're in Leslie's room," Angela told him.  
"Oh. Well then, I should go and introduce myself. Meanwhile, honey, could you show our guests to their rooms?"  
"Of course." They all get up and were escorted to their rooms.

Back upstairs with the three girls.  
"Wow..." Now it was Meiki who was stuck to the screen.  
"C'mon..." Seira is learning martial arts from Leslie, when she suddenly stops.  
"Huh? Why;d you stop?"  
"Hang on. Dad's at my door."  
"How do you know that?"  
'Telepathy?' She said in little Seira's head.  
'Wow...you can do it, too'  
'Yeah. Watch this...Meiki...' She's now in Meiki's head. 'Meiki'  
'Huh? Leslie, don't do that'  
'She's right,' Alex 'said.  
'Sorry, Meiki. Sorry, dad.' She opens the door.  
"Hey, girls. You must be Seira. You look just like your mother..."  
"Yeah, I get that a lot..."  
"Are you going to be a nun-in-training, too?"  
"No...mom says I don't have to. I think I want to be a martial artist..."  
"Oh...Leslie got you hooked, huh?"  
"Yeah..."  
"And you...must be little Meiki. My sweet baby cousin."  
"Hi."  
"You look just like both of them..."  
"I know."  
"Do you like the mystery movies?"  
"Yes. Very much."  
"Be sure to take them with you when you all leave tomorrow night."  
"Ok."

Night came and everyone was at the table.  
"How old are you, Leslie?" Meimi asked.  
"16."  
"Wow, you're a little older than our girls. They're only 14."  
"Um..Mrs. Saruwatari?"  
"Yes, Leslie?"  
"I'm going to take Seira to the training center tomorrow. Is that Ok?"  
"Oh...training center? Like...fighting?"  
"Yes..."  
"I don't know. I don't want her to be hurt..."  
"Seira..." Her husband tries to console her. "She'll be fine. God is with her always, remember?"  
"You're right...if little Seira wants to go, she can go."  
"All right!"  
"After this, why don't we play some Who?"  
"You're all going down..." Daiki said.  
"We'll see, dad," Meiki said.  
"My little detective dares to challenge her old man?"  
"Bring it on..."  
"She's got your courage, honey," Meimi said. The dinner was finished and Alex and Manato went to clean them, while the rest of them played Who?

"It was Mr. Ketchup!" Daiki said.  
"He's right!" Angela said.  
"Ha!"  
"It's just beginning, dad..."  
"I like the sound of that..." Moments later.  
"It was Dr. Feelgood!" Meiki said.  
"She's right!" Meimi said.  
"We're tied. Tiebreaker..."  
"I'm ready..."  
Some time later.  
"It was Chief Mao!" They both said at the same time.  
"Correct!" Leslie said.  
"Hmm...I guess it's a draw..."  
"Indeed. Quite impressive, young grasshopper." They bow to each other. "You'll make one great detective."  
"Thank you, master." They bow and sat down. The other two men came back from finishing the dishes.  
"Who won?" Alex asked.  
"Daiki and Meiki were at a draw," Seira confirmed.  
"That doesn't surprise me a bit..." Manato said.

After all the fun and games, it was time for bed and everyone slept into their rooms in a peaceful sleep.

Then, in the morning.  
"Seira, wake up," Leslie said, shaking her.  
"Nnh...huh?"  
"It's time to go. You ready?" She gets up out of the covers already dressed.  
"Yeah!" They headed out to the training center. They all trained there. The expert was surprised at Seira's immediate progress on her first day.  
"I'm very impressed," He said. "You've really got it...I heard that this'll be the only day you'll be here at the center. Come with me." She follows him to his room. "We've won many championships...and I believe we would continue winning if you would join us, but seeing as you're only going to be here for one day...I want you to have this." He gives her... "This is lucky blackbelt back from when I was about your age. I hope you will continue to learn the arts as I have."  
"Wow...Oh, I will! Thank you, sir!"  
"No problem." They exited the training center.  
"Whoa...his lucky black belt...he gave it to you?"  
"Yeah."  
"You are so lucky. So after this, you're gonna continue the arts?"  
"Yes."  
"That means that we may meet soon..."  
"I hope so."  
"But when we do I won't go easy on you..."  
"Neither will I..."

End Flashback

"So that's how Seira became what she is now...a blackbelt martial artist."  
"Wow..." "Long time, no see, guys," a voice said.  
"Alex? Angela? If you two are here, that means..." Then, they heard.  
bi"The Finalists: Seira Saruwatari from Japan and Leslie Bird from America!"/i/b  
"What? Our cousin's here!?" They meet at last in the ring.  
"Long time, no see, Seira."  
"Likewise, Leslie."  
"Let's see what you got, shall we?"  
"Let's." The bell rings and they fight.

About 15 minutes later...Leslie and Seira both seemed equal...then, Seira remembered something.  
"Ha!" She strikes a blow right to Leslie's chest. Leslie holds her chest. Leslie's down.  
"Winner and Champion: Seira Saruwatari from Japan!"  
"All right, Seira!!" Meiki said. Seira goes to her opponent.  
"You remembered... you remembered my signature strike..."  
"I had a great teacher..." She smiles and helps her up.  
"Congrats, Seira."  
"Thanks."  
"Just watch out next year, I'll be even tougher..."  
"I'm looking forward to it..." She said. They all started to leave the center.  
"Great job, you two," Alex said. "We were so proud of you two..."  
"Thank you, sir."  
"Thanks, dad."

End of Case 3 


	4. Chapter 4

Case 4: The "New" Student

This morning, on another school day, Meiki and Seira happened to have saw a girl in their uniform while they were heading to school, but neither of them recognized her.  
"Look at her..." Meiki said.  
"She goes to our school? Let's go introduce ourselves."  
"Yeah. She must be new." They go walking up to her. "Hi."  
"Oh...Hello." She said.  
"Are you new to the school?"  
"No, I just haven't been here in a while..."  
"Oh. Well, I'm Meiki Asuka and this is my friend, Seira Saruwatari."  
"Nice to meet you."  
"Hello. My name is Elly Saila."  
iSaila? Now where have I heard that name before?/i She thought. As they continued to walk and conversate, they realized that they all had the same class together. "Wow. We have the same class..."  
"Where did you sit?"  
"In the front."  
"Oh. No wonder we didn't know who you were..."  
"Thanks guys for walking with me."  
"No problem. We're always looking forward to making new friends." She takes her seat and the Sister comes in.  
"Good morning, everyone..." Then, she sees her. "Elly? Are you sure it's Okay for you to--" iHuh?/i Meiki thought.  
"I'm fine, Sister. Thanks for your concern."  
"I'm so happy to hear that." Then, she gets on with the lecturing.

After class, during lunchtime.  
"Hey, Elly."  
"Hey, you guys."  
"You wanna sit with us?"  
"Sure." They all sat at one table. On the opposite side, Meiki sees two familiar figures.  
"Hi, Ren! Hi, Ten!"  
"H-h-h-hi...Mei-i-i-iki," They said, stuttering.  
"You must've really scared them...what did you do?"  
"i...Magic./i"  
"You can do magic?" The 'new' student asked.  
"Yeah. Watch this..." While Meiki was showing her trick, Minoru and Seiji was walking to their table.  
"Wow, you can do magic?" Minoru said.  
"Huh?" Getting distracted, she screwed up the trick. "Oh...hi."  
"Where'd you learn to do that?"  
"TV Show," she lied. iDon't worry, Mom, I'm keeping my part of the bargain.../i She thought.  
"Oh really?" Seiji intruded. "bWhat/b TV Show?"  
"That's none of your business!" She exclaimed.  
"Whatever. Minoru, let's go." They left to go to their table.  
"Who was that?"  
"Oh, that's Minoru, he was new to this--"  
"No...ihim/i," She said, pointing to Seiji.  
"Oh, that jerk? That's Seiji, Minoru's friend."  
"Could you introduce us?"  
"What? No...I can't do that. I don't even know him like that..."  
"I don't know," she said. "You sure speak to him like you do..."  
"I don't! I'm sorry, but you're on your own with that..."  
"Oh...did I offend you? I didn't mean to. I--"  
"(sigh) I'll see what I can do..."  
"Oh, thank you!"  
"By the way, pardon me asking, what is it you like about him, anyway? He's rude, noisy and obnoxious..."  
"I don't know...I just feel like...I know him...really well."  
"Um...Ok."  
"I believe I've met him before school..."  
"Oh..."  
"So you're really gonna help me?"  
"I'll introduce you to him, but that's it. I can't force him to do anything. You're on your own afterwards."  
"I understand."  
"C'mon." They got up and went over to the males' table. "Hey, jerk!"  
"What do you--" Then, he saw her. "Elly...I can't believe it's really you..." He gets up and holds her.  
"Seiji...you remembered..."  
"How could I forget? It was one of the best days of my life..." iWow. Guess she was right...but I'm sensing something...it's kinda like...a mystery! Looks like I have another case to solve!/i She thought.  
"Could you meet me after school?"  
"Of course." iLooks I have some snooping to do...I'll have to go bundercover/b./i

After school.  
"Ok, I understand that she seems to have a mysterious past behind her," her best friend said. "but why do I have to come with you...dressed like this!?" She shouted, dressed with a wig and nerdy glasses.  
"It's to disguise us, Seira. You don't want her to know that we're following her, do you?"  
"Why does it have to be we?"  
"'Cause that's what friends do..."  
"Please don't make me do this..."  
"...All right."  
"But tell me how it goes, Ok?"  
"Sure thing, Captain." Then, she sees them. iAll right...let's solve this case./i

As they were walking by, she snuck behind some bushes.  
"Are you sure you're Ok?" He said.  
"Yes...Seiji. I...missed you."  
"Huh?" They stop and Meiki stays behind the tree.  
"I know it was an accident when we met, but I really enjoyed our time together..."  
"Me, too. But...they said it would take days for you to get out..." iGet out? Was she...in jail!?/i She thought.  
"Seiji, it's been months..."  
"Well...I'm still..."  
"Shh. Don't worry so much. I'm fine. They treated me there. It worked." iI can't believe she's been in the joint.../i  
"I'm happy to hear that." Then, they stop at her house. "Well, here you are."  
"I was wondering...if you'd...I don't know...like to go out...with me."  
"Huh?"  
"Go out with me."  
"...I can't."  
"Huh?"  
"I'm sorry...there's..."  
"...Someone else?" He slowly nods. "I see...thanks for walking me home."  
"No problem."  
"Bye." She left.  
"Bye." iWhy you.../i "All right, you can stop it now," He said. Her eyes went wide. iHe knew all this time?/i She gets from behind the tree. "Why were you following us?"  
"I was worried about her...who knows what you boys are capable of..."  
"Hold on. Who are you to start judging me? You don't even know me..."  
"I..."  
"You have some nerve, but whatever. It's not like I care..." He then walks away. iWhy...do I feel bad?/i  
"Hey! Wait!" She goes running to him, but he keeps walking. She grabs his arm. "Look...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."  
"Then what did you mean?"  
"I just said something without thinking, that's all."  
"Then answer my question."  
"Huh?"  
"Why were you following us?"  
"Well...Elly seemed quite..."  
"Oh, I get it. You wanted to find out what happened to her..." iHow'd he figure it out?/i  
"Yeah. The teacher seemed really worried once she saw her, and then, she remembers you..."  
"I'll tell you, if you want..."  
"You would?"  
"Yeah."  
"I would really like to know."  
"All right, but if I do, you'll have to do something for me."  
"Huh?"  
"Deal?" iI don't know.../i  
"All right. Deal." They shook hands. "So what happened?"  
"Well...I met Elly at the hospital..."  
"So it wasn't the jailhouse..."  
"Of course not. I've never been in jail."  
"Right."  
"Anyway, she seemed like a nice girl and she seemed alone at the moment. She told me about...her condition..."  
"What is it?"  
"I can't tell you."  
"Why not? We made a deal..."  
"Yes, we did. Now I need you to understand that I can't tell you about her condition. Only she can."  
"...I understand. Go on."  
"Good. Then, our teacher came in. The doctors told her of Elly's condition and she visited her once a week."  
"Oh That's good..."  
"Yeah. So that's pretty much it."  
"Wow...you know what? I take it back..."  
"Huh?"  
"You're not such a jerk after all..."  
"Thanks...hey!" He shouted. She ran off.  
"Thanks for the story. Bye!"  
"Strange girl."

End of Case 4 


	5. Chapter 5

Case 5: The Stolen Cross Case, Part 1

"What--" Seira, Seira's mom said, walking into the chapel. "How can that be?"

Then, during that morning, as the teacher of Meiki's class was lecturing Math, Seira came in...with some police officers.  
"Sister Josephine!" She shouted. "Forgive the intrusion..."  
"What's wrong, Sister Seira?"  
"Our symbol of the Lord...has disappeared." She dropped her book. She moves her hands in the shape of a cross.  
"Who would do such a thing!? It's disrespectful, intolerable and sick! We must find out who's responsible..." Meiki is hearing all of this. iDon't worry, teach, leave it to me. I'll take care of this case.../i She thought, then she looked at her best friend.  
iOh no, she's got that 'please help me with this' look on her face.../i She thought.

Immediately after school, they go to the scene of the crime.  
"This is for the sake of our school, Seira," Meiki said, kind of dragging her to the church. "It's not obligated."  
"...Ok. I get it." They go inside and saw it. The cross's silhouette was all they saw above the podium. "How are we going to catch whoever did this?"  
"We look around and see if they left anything behind." She pulled out a magnifying glass and started searching the floor and inbetween the pews. Nothing. Then, Seira looked around the podium and noticed something.  
"Hey, Meiki, I think I found something..." She said, signalling her friend to come over. "It's a screw."  
"I bet it went to the cross...so whoever did this was smart enough to use a powerdrill."  
"They'd probably need a ladder, too, right? I mean, who can reach this high?"  
"Brilliant deduction, pal," She said, acknowledging that she was correct. "Ever thought of assisting a detective, miss?"  
"This isn't the time to joke around, Meiki..."  
"Sorry."  
"Hey girls," a voice said. They turn around and saw Seira coming in.  
"Hi, mom."  
"Hey. Meiki, I think this is for you..."  
"Huh?" She hands her a piece of paper. "Alias!"  
"Huh?"  
"This person is Meiki's secret admirer..."  
"No they are not! I don't even know who they are..."  
"What does the message say?"

Detective, I am aware of your current case and can fill you in on what you are looking for:

41 63 81 63 81 42 32 41 73 21 83 32 93 21 73 31 21 62 31 31 43 41 22 32 81 91 32 32 62 "23 32 61 32 81 21 73 93".

Good luck. Alias.  
iHuh? "Cemetary?" I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be that easy.../i  
"What does that mean?"  
"I don't know, but I'll have to find out..."  
"Would you like me to come with you, Meiki?" Seira's mom said.  
"That's Ok, Seira. I actually want dad to assist me."  
"Still trying to beat your father, huh?"  
"Perhaps..."  
"Good luck." She goes off to her house.  
"Dad!" Meimi walks out. "Hi, mom. Where's dad?"  
"He had another case to do. He's not here."  
"Darn! I really needed the help to find the church's cross."  
"What? The cross? That's at the chapel next to the school? It's gone?"  
"Yeah, and I wanted dad to help me find it."  
"Well, I can help...if you want."  
"I don't know..."  
"Did you forget it was me who made your father who he is now? I would give him messages of what I would steal and where I was going to steal it..." iHey...that's just like me and Alias.../i  
"Oh yeah. That's right! Ok, mom. You'll be my assistant...."  
"Ok. So where're we going?"  
"The Cemetary."  
"Cemetary?"  
"Yep. Let's go!"  
"Um...Ok." They left out the house and went to the graveyard.

"All right, we're here," she said, holding her flashlight since it got dark really early. "All right, mom, let's--" Then, she turned around and noticed her mother on the sidewalk a few minutes away. She ran to her. "Mom?"  
"I'm sorry, Mei...I have a..."  
"You have a fear of dead people don't you?" She nods. "Mom, they're not going to come out of their deathbeds and--" Then, she noticed that that wasn't making her mother feel any better. "Oh...mom, we have to do this. For the school...we have to find the symbol of our faith..."  
"...You're right." She stands up tall and together, with her daughter holding her hand, they walked back towards the cemetary. They stopped at the entrance.  
"Now, Alias said that the cross was located between the graves' cemetary..."  
"What? That doesn't make any sense..."  
"It doesn't when the graves are at the cemetary...the graves! There must be some milestones that actually have the word "Cemetary" on them. Mom, we could search faster if we were to bsplit up/b..." Her mother gulped and nodded. They separated.

Moments later.  
"Nothing." Her mother said.  
"Me, neither. It must mean something else..."  
"What else could it mean? There are no graves with the word 'Cemetary' on them..."  
"I don't know..."  
"I think I may know someone who can help us..." She said, looking up to the sky.  
"Huh?"  
'Alex'  
'Huh? Meimi? What's up'  
'Well, my daughter recieved this message from someone of where the church's cross is'  
'Hmm...well I'll need her to 'read' it to me'  
"Meiki?"  
"Yeah, mom?"  
"Alex says you'll have to 'read' it to him."  
"Huh? Mom, Uncle Alex isn't here. How am I--" Then, she remembered. "Oh..."  
'Hey there'  
'Hi'  
'All right. Lay it on me.' She 'reads' it to him. 'Hmm...Meiki, you don't need my help for this'  
'I don't'  
'No, silly. The answer is right in front of you. Ciao!' She's left to her thoughts. iWhat does he mean it's right in front of me?/i She looked at the paper again... iHuh?/i She noticed that the way the paper was folded on the word Cemetary. She then rips the paper in half.  
iThat's it!/i  
"Mom, I got it!"  
"Huh?"  
"We're not looking for the word 'Cemetary'...we're looking for a spot between two graves that have the same letters as the word. Here. Look for a grave with these four letters at the beginning...and I'll look for the other four words at the end."  
"Ok." iShe really is like her father.../i She thought. Minutes later, she found the four letters. "Mei! I've found them." She runs over.  
"Great! Then, the other four letters," she said, looking at the stone next to it a short distance away, "should be right here..." She sees them. "This is it! Time to dig..." They dig...then Meiki hears a 'click' sound. She moved away some remaining dirt and found it. "Here it is!" She said, pulling it from out the ground.  
"Great! That's my little detective..."  
"Aww, mom..." They go to the chapel where police were still investigating the crime. "Sister!" She shouted.  
"Huh?" She then saw Meiki and Meimi carrying the cross. "Oh my...you've found it!" She said. Meimi gives it to her former teacher. "You look familiar..."  
"Sister, it's me..." She looks closer.  
"Haneoka...is this byour/b daughter?"  
"Yes, she is..."  
"Interesting...you married Asuka, didn't you?"  
"Yes, I did."  
"Oh, I see...that's who she got her detective-like ability from..." Meimi looks down. Meiki sees it and quickly says,  
"That may be true, Sister, but if it wasn't for my mom, we would've never found the cross...my mom is quite a detective herself..." She looks up at her daughter, who winks. She smiles.  
"Well, Hane--uh, Asuka, you have a wonderful daughter. She's the smartest in my class...and I thank you for this."  
"No problem."  
"There is still one more thing, Sister..." Meiki said, urgently.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Sister, yes, we have found the cross...but we haven't caught the person or people responsible..."  
"You're right...but all that matters now is that we have our symbol of our Father back."  
iWhoever you are...I will find out who you are. What you have done is unforgivable.../i

To Be Continued... 


	6. Chapter 6

Case 6: The Stolen Cross Case, Part 2

Next day, the class was overhearing the P.A. system.  
"Good news, everyone! Our chapel's cross has been found! It was found by our own classmate in Class 2-A, Meiki Asuka!" Everyone looks at her. She ignores them and takes a look at a piece of paper. "Because of her excellent detective work, the Mayor will be presenting her with a gift later this afternoon!" She's still paying no kind of attention. "On another note, on Friday, our school's track team will be competing against other schools from all across Japan in the big marathon! Among the schools competing against us is..." Then, the announcer mentions the name of schools. Suddenly, Meiki breaks out of her trance at the piece of paper and looked up to the P.A. system when a certain school name came up... "And of course, our long time rivals, St. Luke's Catholic School! Support for our fellow runners and helpers to assist the runners during the marathon are greatly appreciated. That is all." The P.A. system goes off. iSt. Luke's.../i

When school ended.  
"Hey, Meiki, where are you going?" Seira said.  
"What do you mean? I'm going home. School is over, Seira..."  
"I know, but...didn't you hear the announcement about you today?"  
"No...there was an announcement about me?"  
"Yes, there was," a voice said behind her.  
"Minoru...hi."  
"Hey. So we heard that you found the church's cross...that's great."  
"I did it for the school..." Then, she looks at Seiji. He pays no attention to her.  
"Also heard you're being rewarded by the Mayor..."  
"Me? The Mayor?"  
"Yeah. Aren't you going to go?"  
"I guess I don't have a choice..."  
"I wish I could go, Meiki, but my sister and I are going somewhere. Sorry."  
"It's Ok. It's probably not that important..."  
"If you'd like, I could make up for it tomorrow..."  
"Huh?"  
"Are you doing anything tomorrow?" iHe isn't...is he?/i  
"Are you...asking me...on a ...d-dd-d"  
"Is that so hard to believe?"  
"...Well. no...but I'm sorry, I can't. The mystery is not over yet..." She suddenly looked at Seiji for a brief second and saw him smile. iHuh? I didn't just see him.../i  
"I understand. Well, I better get going home."  
"Bye." He leaves. Seiji then walks up to her. "Huh?"  
"Congrats." He said, then just left.  
"Um...Thank you." He stopped when he heard her.  
"No. Thank you." He then leaves again until she asked,  
"Are you going to be there?"  
"Huh? Where?"  
"This...thing."  
"I'll see what I can do."  
"Oh...Ok." He leaves. iWhat did I just do?/i  
"Meiki...you Ok?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"You just asked the boy whom you don't like to be at your commemoration..."  
"So?"  
"You're starting to like him, aren't you?"  
"What? No!" She looks at her friend. "I don't..."  
"She's too busy getting Minoru to like her," a voice said. They turn around to see a familiar face.  
"Chika..."  
"Yeah. It's me. You will not have him!"  
"I don't want him! God, you're so obsessive about a boy you don't even know!"  
"Shut up! I know him just fine."  
"Sure you do..."  
"I'm not through with you, Meiki..." She leaves. iMaybe she did it.../i She thought. iI'll place her on the list of suspects./i  
"Where was I suppose to meet the Mayor?" She asked.  
"What are you talking about? He's coming here, silly."  
"The Mayor? Here? At our school?"  
"Yeah..."  
"Dad told me the Mayor gave him a Jr. Detective Badge..."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, and with it, we could command grown officers to do whatever we wanted...reguarding the matter, of course."  
"Wow..." Then, they see two motorcycles with cops on them, riding with police lights on top of them. After them, came a Rolls Royce driving into the school. "That must be him..." Meiki's frozen. She can't move. "Meiki...Meiki?" He gets out of the car. iIt's really him...the Mayor!/i The Mayor, along with some officers were walking into the school...towards them. iHe's coming this way...oh my god.../i He stops and kindly asks,  
"Hello. I am here to present a special gift to a special person. Do you girls happen to know where I can find Ms. Meiki Asuka?" iHe said my name.../i  
"Yes, sir. She's right here." Seira said, holding her best friend.  
"Is this true, young lady?"  
"...Y-y-y-y-yes, s-s-s-sir..."  
"Well, you seem kind of out of it. Are you Ok?"  
"Y-y-y-y-yes, s-s-s-sir..."  
"Relax...this is a great day for you, my dear. Your father will be very proud of you, I'm sure..."  
"Th-th-th-thank you, sir..."  
"You're quite welcome, my dear. Your big moment will be starting in about an hour, so for now, you can relax...Ok?"  
"Thank you, sir."  
"That's better. Now, while I'm here, do you have any leads as to who was behind this?"  
"Not yet, sir, but I'm sensing it has something to with our marathon this Friday..."  
"Hmm...well," He said, giving her a card. "Here's my number. Just call and let me know what you come up with. I will also need your number in case I have a problem in the city." She gives him her number. "I'm looking forward to working with you."  
"Yes, sir!" She said, saluting. He salutes back and goes to the Sisters. iWow...the Mayor's number.../i  
"Are you going to be Ok?"  
"Yeah." Then, Seiji walks by. "I'll be..." She then starts to fall. Seiji runs and catches her.  
"Huh? Where'd you come from?" Meiki opens her eyes to see Seiji holding her. iHe saved me...again./i  
"Hey. You Ok?"  
"Y-y-yes..." She stuttered.  
"We can't have you fainting at your commemoration now, can we?"  
"N-n-no..." He helps her up.  
"Meiki?" iHe said my name.../i  
"Y-y-yes?"  
"I was wondering...if we could be...friends?" He holds out his hand.  
"Ok..." She shakes his hand. "Friends." She then noticed that she's still holding his hand. She quickly pulls away. "Sorry."  
"It's Ok. You should be getting ready..."  
"Huh? For what?"  
"Your commemoration, silly."  
"Oh yeah...right."  
"I'll be in the front row, Ok?"  
"Ok..." He leaves.  
"Meiki..." She's still staring at him. "Meiki!" She snaps out of it. "Are you Ok?"  
"Yes."  
"Meiki, I think he likes you..."  
"What? That's crazy..."  
"Why?"  
"I don't know. It just is."  
"You like him, too, don't you?"  
"No! It's just that...since he saved me twice now, I realized that he's not such a jerk like I thought he was..."  
"Right..." She looks at her friend.  
"Ok, so I like him as a friend, but that's it..."  
"There. Was that so hard?"  
"...No."  
"Good girl. Now c'mon, this is your big day."  
"That's right," A voice said. They turn around.  
"Mom! Dad! You're here!"  
"Of course!" Her mother said. "We wouldn't miss this day..."  
"She's right. I'm very proud of you..."  
"I couldn't have done it without mama..."  
"Yeah...that's one of the million reasons why I married her..." She blushes.  
"We'll be in the front row..."  
"Ok." They left. Then, the girls left.

Finally, it was time for the event...it took place at the church where the cross has been rescrewed. The Mayor is at the podium, Meiki is sitting on the left side of him. The parents, Seira, her parents, and Seiji are all in the front row. Meimi looks next to her and recognizes him.  
"Hey," she said to Seiji. He hears her and turns her direction.  
"Hello."  
"Nice seeing you again...Seiji, right?"  
"Yes, ma'am..."  
"Meiki told me about you...thank you for saving her."  
"Oh...I was just at the right place at the right time..."  
"Are you two friends?"  
"We are now."  
"Oh. That's good. One more question?"  
"Shoot."  
"Do you like my daughter?"  
"I like her as a friend, but that's pretty much it."  
"I see...well, if you ever want to speak to her, here's her cell number."  
"Um...shouldn't she give me her number?"  
"Don't worry. You guys are friends now, right?"  
"Yes." He takes the paper. "Thanks."  
"I already gave her number to your friend, Minoru."  
"Oh...Ok." Then, the Mayor speaks.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here today to commemorate this young lady for her excellent work in finding the church's cross. It is the symbol of our Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and we are blessed to have it here once again. I present to you now, your heroine, your fellow classmate, Ms. Meiki Asuka." They all clap as she takes the podium.  
"Thank you, everyone. Although I did find the cross, I didn't do it alone. I couldn't have done it without my mother, and a very special friend of mine who is only known as Alias. To take the symbol of our savior is forgiving, but unforgettable. It is the most valuable thing in this chapel. However, this case is not over. The one or ones responsible have not been caught and brought to justice...but whereever they are, I will find them. This I promise. Thank you." They all clap. Then the Mayor comes back up. "Ms. Meiki Asuka, for your brilliant detective work for finding you school's emblem of our Father, I award you with a Jr. Detective Badge, making you an honorary detective." He places it in her hand. They all applaud and stand up. She poses with the Mayor and showing her badge for her family to take a few pics.

Seiji called up Minoru and they walked back home, when.  
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"  
"I was just wondering..."  
"Why I asked Meiki out, right?"

"Wait...do you..."  
"No...no. I was just wondering..."  
"Why else would I ask her? I think she's very talented. She can solve cases, perform magic...she's a rare type of girl."  
"Yeah...that is true."  
"It is all right if I ask her again, right?"  
"Yeah. Of course it is."  
"Great. Her mother gave me her number, so I was gonna call her and--" Then, the boys overheard another conversation.  
'So someone found that cross?' One boy said. Seiji and Minoru hide from the boys...who looked familiar to them.  
'Yeah. Some girl...she's really cute'  
'I'm liking her already. You know her name'  
'Um...Mei...Mei-something'  
'She has a cute name, too. Maybe we'll pay St. Paulina's a visit, huh'  
'What? Why'  
'Why else? To catch this girl. She's in the way of our plans...and we'll make her pay'  
'Yeah...maybe we'll have some...dare I say it, bfun/b>'  
'Now you're thinkin'. C'mon let's go.' The boys leave. Minoru and Seiji start walking again.  
"Those were boys from St. Luke's Catholic School..." Minoru said.  
"Yeah...and now since she found the cross, now they're after her."  
"We should go warn her."  
"Yeah." They walked over to Meiki's house, but found a note on the door. 'Sorry. We're not home. Get back to us in about a few hours. Thanks. The Asuka Family.'

Thursday, at the school...Minoru and Seiji caught Meiki.  
"Meiki!" They shouted.  
"Huh? Yeah? What is it, guys?"  
"Someone left you this note." Minoru said, giving it to her.  
"Huh?" She takes. "It's from Alias..."  
"What does it say?"

Detective, I think your friends may have a lead to who is behind the crime, 22 82 81 22 32 23 21 73 32 33 82 53! It seems that you have people trying to get you...so 93 63 82 61 21 93 41 21 83 32 81 63 82 74 32 93 63 82 73 41 43 33 81, 21 62 31 93 63 82 73 71 63 91 32 73.  
Good luck. Alias.

"Aside from whatever that note says, yesterday after your commemoration, we saw the boys who stole the cross..."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. They were talking about how you found it and everything...and now, they want you."  
"Me?"  
"Yeah. They said that they were gonna make a visit here today and take you..." Then he stopped, not wanting to say what else they wanted to do.  
"I see, so whoever took it had to have been at the church yesterday. How else could they have known I found it?"  
"Makes sense." Seira added.  
"Thanks guys for the heads-up. I know exactly what to do about the boys. Don't worry about a thing. I'll catch them and bring them to justice!"  
"But--" Then, Seiji stopped Minoru.  
"If she says she's got it, she's got it. We have faith in you, Meiki." iThe way he said that.../i She blushes a little.  
"Thanks." They walked away. iApparently, Alias knew of the boys, too, hmm...suspicious./i

Then, after school...as on cue, the boys arrived and she quickly noticed them since they weren't wearing school uniform.  
"Hello, guys," She said to them as they approached her. "I heard you were looking for me..."  
"That's her!" He said.  
"So you're the one who found the cross we buried at the Cemetary..."  
"So you all were in on this, huh?" She pulls out a hat. "Care to see a trick?"  
"We have no time for tricks...guys, surround her." They did as commanded.  
"Too bad." She shows him the hat. Nothing. "Can you see it?"  
"So much for your trick...there's nothing there!"  
"Or is there?" She places it on the ground. "Can you see it now?" All the boys looked down and...VWEEN! Out comes a huge burst of bright light.  
"AHH! I can't see!" They all started to move away from her.  
"Ok, guys...surround them!" Then, behind each boy was an officer.  
"Huh?"  
"You are all going to be taken to your parents and since you broke and entered and stolen, you will be expelled from your school and will not be able to attend any school here. Take them home, boys." They were sent inside police cars and were driven to their respective households. She turns around and sees a piece of paper on the bench.

Very impressive, Detective. You use your gifts well. Until the next case, then. Alias.

iAlias knew about these things before I did...how? It makes no--unless...Alias is someone...in my school!/i She thought. iI still have no clue to who it is...but I'll figure it out./i

End of Case 6 


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Note: Sorry it's been so long, but college has taken a bit more of my time than i wanted. Anyway, the story continues...

Still don't own the Saint Tail characters...darn.

Case 7: Meiki's first REAL Case

Friday, October 19, 8:00AM

Meiki was going to school, like usual, when she receives a call.  
"Hello?"  
"Hello, my dear." iIt's the Mayor! Wow!/i  
"Is there a problem, sir?"  
"Something just came up. A car is waiting for you at your school. Do not worry about your attendance; I have already told your teacher."  
"I'll be right there, sir!"  
"All right then." They hang up and she goes running to the school. She sees a black car.  
"Right this way, Detective Asuka," the chauffer said, opening the door for her.  
"Um...thank you." She replied, stepping inside. The chauffer closes the door and they're off. Silence was heard in the limo, until...  
"It is an honor being your driver today," The chauffer said.  
"Thanks, I guess."  
"So what's the mission, may I ask?"  
"I don't know. The Mayor never told me; he just said that there was a problem."  
"Oh. So, you go to St. Paulina's, huh?"  
"Yeah."  
"You know I have a son that goes there, too."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. Do you know him?"  
"What's his name?"  
"Minoru."  
"You're Minoru's father!"  
"Yeah. So you do know him..."  
"Yes. He's a cool guy."  
"He gets that from me..."  
"What else can you tell me about your son?"  
"Huh?"  
"I'm just curious, that's all. You don't have to tell me."  
"Well..." She listened in on his every word, until they arrived at the Mayor's office. "Here you are. Good luck, Detective Asuka."  
"Thanks, Maru." She said, getting out. She walks to the Mayor's door and knocks. An officer answers it.  
"Show your badge," the officer said. She pulls it out. "You may enter!" She goes in, with the officer saluting her. Then...  
"Sit down, Detective," The Mayor said, sitting comfortably at his desk. "Recently, there's has been reports of thefts all over the city."  
"Is there any connection between the thefts?"  
"No. All the thefts are just random things..." He shows her some things that were taken. "And because of that, there may be more thieves than one."  
"Perhaps..." iLet's see, a painting, a pair of shoes? A television, a sink? How the heck did they do that?/i "Is this all of the papers?"  
"No, there's many more of those." He goes to his file cabinet and hands her all the other papers.  
"Whoa...and you said that this happened within two weeks?"  
"Yes."  
"If I may, sir, I would like to keep these and check for any special connections..."  
"Usually, I wouldn't allow anyone to take the papers home from my cabinet, but seeing as you're Sr. Detective Asuka's daughter, I can make an exception."  
"You knew?"  
"Of course, my dear. It's my job to know. I do background checks on everyone I hire."  
"Right. Thanks."  
"Good luck...Oh! One more thing."  
"Yes, sir?"  
"You can't let anyone else see the papers..."  
"Understood, sir." She leaves and goes home.

She opens her door and is met by her mother.  
"Hey, honey. What're you doing here so early?"  
"Detective business, mom. I've got my first REAL case!"  
"That's great! Need any help?"  
"Sorry, mom, the Mayor said I couldn't show anyone else the papers..."  
"Oh...well, don't be on those papers too long. Come down for dinner when I tell you."  
"Sure thing, mom." She runs up the stairs to her room and goes to her desk. She sorts all the papers out. Then, she classified them in groups. iHmm...there are no two same items...and a lot odf strange things taken. A record player? Who uses those anymore? A washing machine? A dryer? A couch, A lamp, A refrigerator, A water hose...hmmm...sounds like they want to make a house or something.../i After noticing a pattern, she sorts them out differently. iOk...these things go in the living room, these items go in the bathroom and these items in the kitchen...now, all this other stuff...A pair of shoes, linens, underwear? That is disgusting...A few pairs of shorts and shirts...but no skirts, so it might not be a woman...But only one pair of shoes were taken, so it has to be one person...they're stealing these things...to make themselves a life! That's it!/i Figuring something out, she calls the Mayor.  
"Well done, Detective. Your escort will be at your house momentarily."  
"Understood, sir." She hangs up.  
"Meiki! Dinner!" Her mother shouted.  
"Coming, mom!" She starts to run downstairs, then heard the doorbell ring. She gets to the table. Meimi's at the door.  
"Yes? How may I help you?"  
"I am here to escort Detective Asuka to the Mayor, ma'am."  
"Which one?"  
"The female Asuka, ma'am."  
"Well, she's eating right now, so why don't you join us?"  
"I don't want to intrude..."  
"It's no problem. C'mon in." He goes in and sees the two Detectives eating. "Pull up a chair. Meiki, your ride is here."  
"Hey, Maru. That's my mother, and you probably already know my father..."  
"Sr. Detective Asuka...nice to finally meet you. The Mayor has spoken very highly of you. I aslo would personally like to thank you for rescuing my daughter."  
"Mmm plemmsumm (My pleasure)." They all sat down and ate.  
"Mrs. Asuka, if I may..."  
"Yes?"  
"How does it feel having your husband and daughter as detectives?"  
"It's great to see my family doing what they love to do...but..." Silence. No chewing, No swallowing, just silence. The two detectives stare at their family member. "Meiki, I will be honest. The thought of you going out there, putting your life on the line...it scares me, like it scares me with you, Daiki. It's like we're not much of a family anymore..."  
"Meimi...why didn't you tell me you felt like this?"  
"You're always excited when you have a new case...I don't want to ruin that...I love seeing you happy like that."  
"I love seeing you happy, too. If you really feel that way, I'll take a vacation from my work...just to be with you."  
"No, you shouldn't do-" He places his finger to her lip.  
"Shh. Without you, Meimi, I wouldn't be who I am now...I think about you every mission I get. Just the thought of you waiting for me hurts...I don't want to see you waiting for me...I want to be here with you."  
"Daiki..."  
"Ok?"  
"...Yes. Ok." He scoots his chair to his wife and consoles her.  
"Mom, I don't want to sound selfish, but I love doing this..."  
"I know. I won't stop you..."  
"Still, you're right. I have all this skill from dad, but I don't really have much skill from you. I want to learn what you have to give me, mom. That move you showed me came in real handy..."  
"Meiki..." She starts to cry again.  
"I'm finished, mom. May I be excused?"  
"You may." She gets up.  
"C'mon, Maru, let's roll." He drives him back to the Mayor. She explains to the Mayor what she's discovered. He's impressed.  
"Well, that is interesting..."  
"Are there any abandoned houses in our city? Most likely, that's where the stolen items will be. And some of them will be bon/b our little thief."  
"Most impressive, Detective. Let's see..." He pulls out the papers of all the houses and streets in the city. "There is a few abandoned houses..."  
"If I may, I will have officers search them all."  
"Are you sure about this? This may be dangerous..."  
"It goes along with the badge, sir."  
"Just like your father. If you insist..." Meiki has recruited several officers to go with her.  
"When any of you notice anything suspicious, report to me immediately, understand?"  
"Yes, ma'am!" They all said.  
"Good. Let's go!" The limo drives around to every abandoned house as officers knock down the wooden baords used to cover up the entrances. It wasn't until they got to the last house in the city that they found what they were looking for...iThis is the house...but there's no one here./i "I only need 3 of you with me. The rest of you can go. Thank you for your ccooperation."  
"Yes, ma'am!" They said. When the culprit turned on, officers came and cuffed them.  
"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't just go around stealing things from people's houses." It was an old man. iWeird.../i  
"I didn't steal anything! I swear!" The old man said, holding his hands up. iWhy do I believe him?/i  
"How did you get this stuff?"  
"I honestly don't know..."  
"Does anyone live here with you?"  
"No. It's just me."  
"Was this house always like this?"  
"No...a few weeks ago, there was nothing here, then...voila! The place is packed..."  
"Ma'am!" An officer said. She turns around. "You might want to take a look at this..." She follows him to the kitchen and notices that the refrigerator has a message on it. "I think it's in blood, ma'am..."  
"'We payed our part, now you WILL pay yours...or else. The Bloodboys?' Who are the bloodboys?"  
"They are a notorious group of thieves. We've tried to find them for years, but nothing. They cover their tracks really well."  
"I see...well, I love a challenge." She walks back to the old man. "You made a deal with the Bloodboys?"  
"Bloodboys? No...I didn't...not those boys..."  
"Apparently you did. And if you don't tell me the truth, you will be going to jail."  
"...About a month ago, I ran into this guy..."  
"Did he tell you his name?"  
"No."  
"How did he look?"  
"He had all red. Just red. Red Suit, Red Tie, Red Pants, Red Rose, Red Hat, even had a RedBull."  
"Ok..."  
"And we were here, at this house..."

Flashback

'Is this the house?' The red-suited man asked.  
'Yeah...but there's nothing in it. I don't have any money, any clothes...nothing.'  
'You know, I could give you all that...'  
'You could?'  
'Sure, and in return, you sign this paper here and I'll get right on the job.'  
'Really?'  
'Yep.' The old man signs the paper. 'Excellent. Nice doing business with you. In a matter of weeks, you'll have your dream home. So long. We'll be in touch.' He leaves.

End Flashback

"So you signed the paper without reading it?"  
"Heh heh..."  
"(sigh) So did he call you?"  
"Many times. Demanding my life insurance papers. I got rid of the phone as soon as I heard that..."  
"I think I understand now. These Bloodboys stole all this items to make your house, and in return, they'd get paid."  
"Hmm..."  
"I hate to do this, sir, but we must keep you in custody until we can find and capture these Bloodboys."  
"Oh..." They cuff him and sent him to the jail. iBloodboys, huh? I'll catch you all.../i

End of Case 7 


	8. Chapter 8

Case 8: Just One Clue Is All I Need

After taking the man to jail, Meiki called the Mayor...  
"Sir, what do we do about this stuff? I mean, can we actually give it back?"  
"I don't think we can. I'll have to create a fund in replacing the stolen items to the fellow people."  
"Understood."  
"You did great, Detective. I'll call you when we have another lead."  
"Yes, sir." She goes to the officers. "You guys can go now."  
"Yes, ma'am!" They said, leaving. She goes to her ride.  
"Maru, take me home."  
"You've got it." He drives her home. She opens the door.  
"Mom, I'm home."  
"Hey, honey." Meimi said, greeting her.  
"How did the case go?" Her father asked. She told them of what she knew so far... "The Bloodboys? I remember catching one of them..."  
"Really? Where are they now?"  
"They got out on bail. 1 million yen. He went to trial and the judge set his bail. Next day, it's paid; he goes free."  
"That's not fair..."  
"I know."  
"What proof did you have? Do you have it with you?"  
"No. When his case was dismissed, so was the evidence. It all disappeared. Meiki, listen well...the Bloodboys can be banyone/b, a lawyer, a judge, an officer, a student, a teacher...be careful."  
"Yes, sir!"  
"In case you get into trouble, Meiki, I have some more tricks I can show you..."  
"All right! Teach me! Teach me!"

During the course of the weekend, Meiki has received no calls from the Mayor, she just lived her daily life...until...

Monday, October 22, 10:48AM

Meiki receives a phone call from the Mayor.  
"Yes, sir?"  
"You are needed right away. Your chauffer is already outside."  
"I'm taking a test right now, sir. I'm sorry, but it'll have to wait..."  
"I understand. Please alert your teacher of the situation after you have finished."  
"Yes, sir." When she finished, she told the teacher and was excused from class.

At the Mayor's office...  
"Yes, sir? Your call seemed urgent..."  
"Well, we have another case of stolen items. Whether the Bloodboys are responsible or not, I want you to find out."  
"Yes, sir." He hands her the papers. She looks at them. "Whoa. That's-"  
"Yes. That is."  
"Does this mean I have to..."  
"Yes, Detective. Please get on this as soon as you can."  
"Yes, sir."  
"You are dismissed." She salutes and leaves to the limo. Maru drives her home.  
"Ms. Asuka..."  
"Meiki, please."  
"Ms. Meiki, are you Ok?"  
"What do you mean? I'm fine..."  
"You don't look like it...does it have something to do with your case?"  
"...I'd rather not talk about it."  
"I won't force it. Hope you feel better."  
"Thanks." She gets out and goes into her house. "Seira?"  
"Hey, Meiki."  
"What are you doing here?"  
"I'm staying over. My mom and pop are on that cruise, remember?"  
"Oh yeah."  
"Anyway, you don't look so good..."  
"What's wrong, honey?" Meimi said, walking in from the kitchen.  
"Nothing, mom. It's just this case has turned a bit."  
"What do you mean?"  
"The Mayor wants me to investigate...at a hospital..."  
"Hospital?" Both females said, shocked.

"Meiki. You have nothing to fear. Fight this fear. Go to that hospital and do what you have to do."  
"Will you guys...come with me?"  
"You can do this alone. You're the Detective." Her mom reminded.  
"I think I may have a way for you to conquer this fear...imagine that your hero is with you..."  
"You mean...my dad? Or my mom?"  
"No. Can't be a family member. Someone who seems too good to be true, whom you admire..."  
"Alias...but I don't know how they look..."  
"Just make them up."  
"I'll try it." There's a knock at the front door. "I'll get it." She answers the door. "Oh, hi, Maru."  
"The Mayor has instructed me to escort you to the hospital immediately."  
"I'm ready. Let's go." They take off.

At the hospital, once Meiki entered the double doors, her fear kicked in instantly. Then, she thought about what her best friend suggested earlier. She closes her eyes and pictures a figure with Detective clothing on.

'Detective, don't faint on me...'  
'Huh?' She opens her eyes. 'Sorry, Alias.'  
'Don't mention it. Let's solve this case...'  
'Right!' She arrives at the front desk. She shows her badge and the nurse escorts her to the scene of the crime. She sees writing similar to the writing at the house where she discovered the missing items some time ago.  
"Doc, you need to pay up...Bloodboys." iBetter call in the troop.../i She thought, pulling out her cell phone. "Sir, I'm gonna need some backup..." Minutes later, Meiki waits for her backup at the front doors. They come in. Meiki goes back to the front desk. "Ok, I need the names off all the doctors here." The nurse at the front desk hands her the staff roster. "Interesting..."  
"Ma'am, there are 54 doctors at this hospital...we can't cover them all..."  
"You're right...but we may not need to check them all...just the ones who are in charge of surgery. The Bloodboys stole organs...because one of the surgeons didn't pay what they were supposed to...and people's lives are at stake." She goes back to the front desk and asks the nurse to circle the surgeons on the roster. "Do you have guards that watch the organ room?"  
"No. Only Authorized Personnel can enter the organ room." Then, Meiki remembered what her father said. iSo one of these guys must be a Bloodboy...how else would the organ room be accessed? Someone had to have witnessed it.../i  
"What time was this theft reported?"  
"About 2 hours ago. At 1:24."  
"Ok. Which of these surgeons were on duty during those times?" The nurse goes to a sign-in sheet.  
"Dr. Mortimer and Dr. Luschifa."  
"Where are they now?"  
"They should still be here...neither of them signed out..."  
"Boys, find those surgeons and bring them here."  
"Yes, ma'am."  
"What if they are doing surgery?"  
"This shouldn't take long...as long as no one's keeping anything from me..." Moments later, one of the two surgeons arrived at the front. "Jr. Detective Asuka. I need to ask you some questions, Dr."  
"I'm all ears. If it means getting those organs back..."  
"I'm afraid that those organs may not be attainable. Your shift starts at 1:00, correct?"  
"Yes."  
"You had a patient scheduled at 1:20. What did this patient require?"  
"Nothing. They were getting an appendectamy."  
"And you put the appendix in the organ room, correct?"  
"No...I didn't."  
"Is that not where the organs go?" The Doctor whispers to her,  
"It is, but the patient wanted to keep their appendix. Though we're not allowed to do such a thing, I did it anyway. Please don't tell anyone. I don't want to lose my job."  
"Very well. Did you ever enter the organ room today?"  
"Yes. At about 2:00, I had a patient who was looking forward to a new kidney, so I go into the room to find that the kidney for the patient was gone...along with other parts."  
"What other parts?"  
"Let's see...I believe there was one kidney, two breasts, a liver and a pair of eyes." Meiki's fear triggered when she heard that eyes were stolen.  
'Detective, focus.'  
'Right.' "So they stole parts for a woman..."  
"Why do you say that?"  
"Breasts? For a man? Not likely."  
"Maybe every part stolen was not for just one person..."  
"You do have a point. Anyway, thank you sir for participating."  
"No problem. I hope those parts can be replaced." The Dr. takes off. Meiki goes to one of her officers.  
"Keep an eye on him. He's hiding something..."  
"Yes, ma'am!" The officer follows the doctor. As the officer went to investigate on the recent doctor, the second doctor came in.  
"Dr., please have a seat." The female surgeon sits down. "As you may already know, there have been missing organs being reported here at around the time you came in for work. Where were you at 1:20?"  
"Well, I was...I was...I was..."  
"Ma'am, calm down. I'm not here to arrest you...unless you're hiding something. Now, I will ask you again. Where were you at 1:20?"  
"I was drinking...a lot."  
"Ok...though you are aware you shouldn't drink on the job..."  
"I know, but I just broke up with my boyfriend last night."  
"Sorry to hear that. Now, did you go in the organ room at any time today?"  
"Yes. I went inside at about 1:20. I'm the one who reported the missing parts..."  
"Can you tell me what was missing?"  
"Yes, of course. 1 kidney, 2 fake bosoms, 1 liver, a pair of green eyes, and one heart." iOne heart? The last surgeon never mentioned one heart...interesting./i Meiki pulls out her walkie-talkie. "Yoshimaro. Come in, Yoshimaro."  
"Yes, ma'am?"  
"Are you still on the last surgeon's tail?"  
"Affirmative, ma'am."  
"Please ask him to come back."  
"On it." Some time later, the other surgeon came back.  
"Sir, this surgeon here has told me of all the missing parts...including one heart, which you did not mention."  
"Well, I must've forgotten that one..." Then suddenly, the doctor pushes the officer behind him and races off out the hospital.  
"After him!" Meiki ordered. They all are running after him. "Let's see...ah! I got it!" She pulls out a familiar item. "It's Show...time!" With the wave of her wand, and the official countdown: "One! Two! Three!" The wand emits an invisible wire, which wraps around the surgeon's legs, forcing him to collapse on the ground, where officers caught up and arrested him. The crook was brought back to the young Detective. "Nice try, Doc. Now, tell me the truth! You're the doctor the message was referring to, aren't you? The very parts that were stolen...you wanted them for someone...who is it? Confess!"  
"Ok, ok. I admit it. My daughter was in a tragic accident. Her eyes were melting, like she was hit with acid or something...her body was all cut up..."  
"So your daughter was raped and robbed..." Meiki tried to stay composed, though she felt like she was gonna throw up.  
"And if that wasn't worse enough, her heart is dying as well..."  
"Where did you meet the Bloodboys?"  
"I met a rather young guy with nothing but red on. He said he could take care of my daughter; provide the parts needed for her to survive...I would do anything for my daughter...so I made the deal."  
"What was the deal for?"  
"Free surgery..."  
"Did you do it?"  
"No. And because of that, they took her body parts..."  
"Wait, you mean..."  
"I payed for those parts...except the kidney, they didn't follow their end of the bargain, so why should I follow mine? Maybe I should have..." Then, the surgeon's cell went off. "May I answer it?"  
"You may." He answers his cell.  
"Hello? What! When? Ok, thanks...me, too...goodbye." He hangs up. "She's gone...my daughter's gone. Why didn't I do what they wanted!"  
"Deep down, you knew it wouldn't be what your daughter would want...that's what I think. I'm afraid I have to arrest you, though."  
"I understand." iSo the guy was a bit young...hmm...still wish I had a real clue...just one clue is all I need.../i Then, Meiki senses someone watching her. She looks behind a tree to see a figure watching.  
"Hey you! Stay where you are!" She runs towards the figure. They remain still. When she arrived at the tree...  
iA puppet?/i Then, suddely, a figure leaps out from the tree into the sky, shining with the moon. She looks up to see the person. "Hey!" She said. She looks at the eavesdropper's hands. iNo gloves.../i She thought. The figure takes something from out their pocket and tosses it at the little detective. Meiki dodges. The figure disappears. iWho was that?/i She goes to the item tossed at her...it was a letter. iImpressive, little girl, but this is your first warning: Stop your meddling in our affairs...  
Bloodboys. Yeah right...no chance of that happening...and you've just given me the clue I needed.../i

End of Case 8 


	9. Chapter 9

Case 9: A Shocking Revelation? And A Twist!

With the letter in her pocket and a crooked surgeon in cuffs, Meiki decided to call it a day. She went home, thanking all the officers and Maru, her chauffer. When she arrived at her front door, she notices a bunch of balled up papers on her doorstep. iHuh?/i She bends down and picks them all up, opening her door and going right up to her room. She unravels each crumbled paper one by one, finding nothing on the papers at all. iWhat is this? A joke?/i She thought, until she unraveled the last sheet of paper. There was a note:

Detective, there is something I want you to try... iAlias?/i 22 21 53 53 82 71 21 53 53 81 42 32 71 21 71 32 73 74 21 41 21 43 62. 91 42 32 62 93 63 82 31 63, 74 42 82 33 33 53 32 81 42 32 61 21 62 31 33 43 62 31 81 42 43 74 71 21 71 32 73 21 41 21 43 62. iFine. I'll play along.../i She does as the note says. As she is going through each paper again, she finds it a lot faster than the first time. She unravels the paper with the note on it again, but when she read it, it wasn't the same message:

Detective, try again. iJust what is this supposed to prove?/i She does it again. When she unravels the paper again, finding it quicker than the time before, another message is on it:

Detective, you should be able to tell one paper from another by now...81 73 93 21 41 21 43 62, 22 82 81 81 42 43 74 81 43 61 32, 23 53 63 74 32 93 63 82 73 32 93 32 74. iClose my eyes? What good would that do?/i 81 73 82 74 81 93 63 82 73 43 62 74 81 43 62 23 81 74. iThis is ridiculous./i She disregards the last message, but places the paper in her pocket and calls the Mayor, telling him of the threat she received.

Tuesday, October 23, 3:20PM

"I have called the forensics to check your letter for fingerprints. Of course, disregarding yours."  
"Sir, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to witness it myself..."  
"You really are Asuka's daughter. Very well." Maru takes her and the evidence to the forensics.  
"Hello. You must be the detective the mayor spoke of. Detectives are getting a lot younger these days."  
"Nice to meet you..." Meiki looks around again.  
"Is something wrong?"  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Just a feeling..."  
"You have the letter, yes?"  
"Yes." She hands the letter to the forensic guy. "I would like to see how this is done for myself."  
"No problem. Follow me." She's escorted to a lab. "There isn't really much to it. Here, we just scan the letter for fingerprints...and we come over here," the man directed, "to this computer and find out whose fingers have been on the note." They both sit down, staring at the computer. A name and picture pops up. "See? There's yours."  
"Wow."  
"All right, let's keep searching." The letter discovers another set of fingers. "Ah, we struck pay dirt." Another name and face appears. "The name says Kimi Kinami." iA woman.../i "And those are the only fingerprints on this piece of paper..." iPiece of paper.../i That quickly reminded her of Alias's note. She pulls it out of her pocket and reads it...

Detective, 73 32 61 32 61 22 32 73 81 42 32 63 62 32 74 93 63 82 74 32 32 52 61 21 93 22 32 23 53 63 74 32 73 81 42 21 62 93 63 82 81 42 43 62 53...

iHuh?/i She looks around, getting that feeling again. iSomeone's here.../i Right at the elevator, she sees someone confront a scientist.

"Hey! You don't work here!" The scientist said. Unfortunately, he was quickly knocked out hard. Meiki gets up and runs towards the figure. The figure notices and runs toards the elevator. Unfortunately, the elevator doors closed before the person could get in, so they opened up the door to the stairs. Meiki soon follows suit. Meiki, being the athletic type (from her mother), caught up to the figure and took them down. She quickly cuffs the figure.  
"Who are you?" She asked.  
"I will never tell," The crook answered.  
"I have a way of getting people to talk...it's Showtime!" A wand appears in Meiki's hand.  
"What the-" She waves the tip of the wand at the crook's eyes. The figure is hypnotized.  
"Take off your mask." The figure obeys. It's a woman. iCould she be the same one who gave that note to me?/i "Are you the one who gave me the threat letter?"  
"Yes..."  
"Do you work for the Bloodboys?"  
"Yes..." iThank you, mom. This trick rocks!/i  
"Do you know the names of the Bloodboys?"  
"Yes..."  
"Here is a piece of paper and a pen. Write their names down."  
"All right." Meiki never lets go of the wand, but then another figure from behind grabbed Meiki, breaking the woman out of her trance. Meiki bites the figure's arms, freeing herself and quickly picks up the paper. When she looked up, the woman and the figure were gone. iThey got away.../i Then, she looks at the paper. iBut I have names now...time to catch me some Bloodboys...and girls, apparently./i

For the past week, Meiki has single-handedly brought 10 members of the Bloodboys to justice. Those Bloodboys, including the woman who got away, were put behind bars for a long time. Then, on Halloween afternoon...

Tuesday, October 31, 12:24PM

"Meiki! Did you hear?" Seira said, coming over.  
"Huh? Hear what?"  
"About the Halloween party tonight?"  
"The school is having a halloween party?"  
"Of course not, silly. It's at Minoru's house..."  
"Really?"  
"And everyone's invited!" Minoru walks to them, overhearing their conversation.  
"Yes. Come in your costumes, no devils, witches, goblins, black cats, or wizards."  
"How about a magician?" Meiki asked, curious.  
"I suppose that's Ok..."  
"You're going as a magician?" Seiji asked, hearing them.  
"Yeah. I know a few tricks, after all."  
"Oh, right...from the TV show..." Meiki sticks her tongue out at him.  
"How about you, Seira?"  
"I'll ask my mom to let me borrow one of her small nun outifts."  
"Taking in your father's idea for a kung-fu nun or whatever it was he said?"  
"No, it's just for the party. Besides, I heard nuns can't get married..."  
"But your mom is a nun...and she's married..."  
"God let my mom have the best of both worlds. I'm glad."  
"Yeah. Me, too." Meiki said.  
"Anyway, what about you, Minoru?"  
"A vampire. Blah!"  
"Figures." Seiji said, knowing his friend.  
"Let me guess: A mummy, Seiji?" Minoru said.  
"Not this time...my costume is a secret...you'll just have to wait until the party."  
"Aww, no fair," Meiki said. "We told our costumes..."  
"Sorry."

Meiki went home to tell her parents about Minoru's party...  
"Well, if it's not at the school...and Seira's going..."  
"Now you listen here, young lady. Be sure that you're here by 10. No later, got it?" Her father said quickly.  
"Yes, sir!" She said saluting. He salutes back.  
"Dis...missed!" She runs upstairs to try on her costume. She waves her wand at her uniform and with a touch on her outfit, her clothing changes. iYes! I did it!/i  
Night fell and Meiki came down.  
"How do I look?" The two lovebirds looked at their daughter. Both are speechless.  
"Meiki...you remind me of me in my younger years..." Her mother said, crying.  
"She's right. You look like Saint Tail..."  
"That's the idea. This is my costume...you, mom."  
"That's so sweet. But be careful, Meiki. With that costume, comes great responsibility. First of all, you cannot portray me in any way. Do NOT perform any tricks when you're at this party...my reputation is still known to many...hee-hee. And, whatever you do, if you do break those two rules, which you probably will, DO NOT GET CAUGHT!"  
"She's right. There was one thing I kept from the Mayor...your mother's other identity. No one must know."  
"I understand. I promise, I will not get caught."  
"Ha! So you are going to break the first two rules..." he father quickly concluded.  
"Um..."  
"Go have fun." Meimi said, ignoring her husband's remark.  
"Thanks."

Tuesday, October 31, 6:47PM

Meiki arrives at Minoru's party. Minoru answers the door.  
"Oh, hi, Meiki." He looks at her. She looks at him.  
"Even with the fake blood...nice."  
"Thanks. Nice costume, but I thought you were coming as a magician..."  
"I am a magician..."  
"That's more of a magician's assistant, don't you think?" iHe does have a point.../i "Anyway, come on in. Seira's already here." She enters and out of the whole crowd, she looked at the only girl in all white. Seira turns around. Meiki stares in amazement.  
"Hey Mei-"  
"Kawaiiiiiiiiii!" She quickly said, jumping her best friend.  
"Meiki, stop! Let me go!" She said, surprised at her friends sudden attack.  
"You look just like your mom, just smaller."  
"Yeah. I get that a lot."  
"How did your mom react when she saw your outfit?"  
"She loved it..."  
"And your dad?"  
"He did what you just did a few seconds ago...attacked me. And told me the same thing."  
"Well, it's true." Seira noticed the outfit she was wearing.  
"So...like mother, like daughter, huh?"  
"Hee-hee...yeah."  
"Hey, have you seen Seiji?"  
"No..." Then a figure walks at the door. Meiki turns around, hearing the door open again. Then, she heard a voice:  
"Detective..." When she heard that unfamiliar voice...something struck her. iCould that be.../i The figure then disappears. She blinks again.  
"Seira, I think they're here..."  
"Who's they?"  
"...Alias."  
"Really? Great! Finally, you get to see your stalker."  
"They're not my stalker!"  
"Why don't you try the roof? People don't suspect anyone up there..."  
"That's not a bad idea. Hey, where's Minoru?"  
"Don't know. Maybe he changed into a bat...hee-hee." Meiki walks out the door and leaps onto the roof, landing as if she was bowing. When she got up, she's shocked to see a figure. Both stand, speechless.  
"Who are you?"  
"Detective..." The voice spoke again. iIt is them.../i  
"Alias?"  
"Your power of persuasion is impressive, as well as your ability to solve my clues."  
"Why are you helping me?"  
"Because God commanded it..."  
"Huh?"  
"We will be in touch...very soon. Until then, Detective..." The figure leaps off the roof. Meiki tries to follow, but stops to see something on the roof. iFangs?/i And what she saw right next to it... iFake blood...just like.../i She then leaps off the roof, and not seeing where she was landing...fell on someone. "Ow!"  
"Ouch! Meiki?" The person said. "What were you doing on Minoru's roof? And why did you jump from it?" They both get up. "I'm so sorry for falling on you. Are you Ok?"  
"I'm fine. What were you doing up there?"  
"I met him..."  
"Met who?"  
"Alias..."  
"Oh, the stalker..."  
"He's not a stalker! He was just looking out for me...ever since that first note warning me to avoid going to the cafeteria...he's been protecting me...since the beginning. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be the Jr. Detective I am today..."  
"Whoa...that's deep. Anyway, here's my costume." She looks at him. "I'm you. A detective, I mean."  
"That's so cute..."  
"Hey!"  
"Now you see how I felt..."  
"Anyway, let's-" Then, a bell rings...10 times.  
"Oh no! It's 10:00! I'm supposed to be home!"  
"No problem. I'll take you home...if you want."  
"That's Ok. I really gotta go." She runs off.  
"Strange girl..."

End of Case 9

Things will get interesting later on. Promise. 


	10. Chapter 10

Case 10: Attack of the Bloodboys! Part 1

"This detective girl is very good," A shadowy figure said to another. "She caught most of our crew..."  
"Being the daughter of one of Japan's greatest detectives, she should be. Looks like it may be time to show her just what the Bloodboys can do..."  
"I'm already on it, sir...we have discovered some of her many flaws...and I'm one of them," the figure said. "This'll make her quit for good and stop meddling in our affairs!"  
"I knew it was a good idea to keep you undercover at that school..."

iAll this time...it was him.../i She thought. "Meiki? Meiki!" Seira said, trying to get her attention. "Oh! Sorry. What happened?"  
"You were out of there for a moment. You Ok?"  
"I'm Ok...it's just that...I found out who Alias is..."  
"What! Really? Who is it?"  
"...Minoru."  
"I should've known...it's always someone close..."  
"Yeah..."  
"So what are you gonna do? Are you going to tell him that you know his secret?"  
"No...I want to..."  
"Huh?"  
"I want to catch him...I want to catch Alias..." Then, a hand lands on her shoulder. She looks up at Minoru. She blushes.  
"Meiki, you Ok?" He asked.  
"Yes...thanks."  
"Anyway," Seira said, changing the subject, "Thanksgiving's coming up...and we're having it at your place this year..."  
"Yep. My mom's all prepped for it."  
"I'll be looking forward to it...I mean, seeing your cousin Leslie again. I wanna show her some new moves I learned."  
"Yeah. It would be nice to see Uncle Alex and Aunt Angela again...plus your Nana Mimori's coming...with her famous Holy Apple Cobbler..."  
"Ohh, stop it, you're making me hungry..." "That sounds heavenly. You don't mind a few more guests, do you?" Minoru asked.  
"I don't know..." Meiki sounded unsure.  
"Isn't that a bit much?" Seiji said, butting in. "You're asking to join them for Thanksgiving..." "It's all right. They don't mind...do you?"  
"This isn't considered a...date, is it?" Meiki asked, blushing.  
"Well...not really...unless you want it to..."  
"No. It's not a date." Seiji quickly said.  
"Look who's so quick to say it's not a date," Seira said, smirking at Seiji.  
"Well, Meiki? Is it Ok?"  
"...I guess so."  
"Great! I'll tell my family." He walks away.  
"Meiki, can I talk to you?" Seiji said.  
"Huh?"  
"It's important..."  
"Um, Ok..." They walk away. "What's up?"  
"I think you should reconsider..."  
"Huh? Why?"  
"I'm not sure, but I have a bad feeling about this..." Then, something struck Meiki.  
"Oh my gosh...Seiji, you're...jealous?"  
"What? No!"  
"You are...Seiji, do you..."  
"Meiki, listen to me..."  
"Oh my gosh...you do, don't you?"

"You wanna come, too?"  
"No thanks. You won't even listen to me..." He walks away.  
"Seiji, wait!" He leaves. iNice going, Asuka./i When Meiki went to her desk, there was a piece of paper. iAlias?/i She looks around. iHow did he do that?/i She opens the note:

Detective, a word of warning: 61 21 52 32 74 82 73 32 93 63 82 91 21 81 23 42 93 63 82 73 22 21 23 52. Alias.  
iWhat could he mean? What are you trying to tell me, Minoru? Well, I can't just ask him up front.../i

"Um, Meiki?" A voice asked. She turn around to see a familiar girl.  
"Elly, hi. How are you?"  
"Great! I heard from Seira about the Thanksgiving taking place at your house...and I was wondering..if I could come, too?"  
"Um..."  
"Please? The way she mentioned the food...it all sounded so good..."  
"I guess so."  
"Thank you!" She hugs her.  
"Don't mention it..." iI don't know if mom's gonna like this.../i

"WHAT! How many people!" Her mother shouted. Meiki looks frightened.  
"Just...Minoru and his father and sister...and Elly and her mother and father..."  
"Meiki, you should've asked me first. Or did you forget that your Grandfathers and Grandmothers are coming?"  
"No I-"  
"Plus your Uncle Alex, Cousin Leslie and Aunt Angela..."  
"I know, but-"  
"Not to mention Seira and her family..."  
"I'm sorry..."  
"It's Ok, honey. Next time, tell me first. That's over 20 people...guess I better get cooking..."  
"I'll just go and-" Before she could run, her mother catches her.  
"And you're helping..." She puts an apron on and a chef's hat. "To the kitchen..." She obeys.

Thursday, November 23, 6:55PM, Thanksgiving Night

"Phew! Finally finished..." Meiki said, exausted.  
"Good job, honey. The food looks wonderful..."  
"I'm gonna...go to...bed..."  
"You can't go to bed, silly. Why did we cook the food in the first place?"  
"Oh, right..." Then, at 7:00 precisely, "Here comes Uncle Alex, Aunt Angela and Leslie." She said. And through the door came the family from America.  
"We're here." Alex exclaimed.  
"Hey, Meiki," Leslie said. "Where's Seira? She told me she had some moves she was going to show me..."  
"She's not here yet..." Then, the door opens again. In comes the Mimori-Saruwatari family. "Oh, there she is."  
"Leslie!"  
"Seira!" They came at each other with kicks until Mother Seira breaks them up.  
"No fighting."  
"Aww..."  
"Sorry about that, Meimi..."  
"No problem." Then, Meiki sees a familiar woman.  
"Granny Mimori!" She hugs the old woman.  
"Hey, Mei. Heard you got a badge, just like your father. Sorry I couldn't make it..."  
"That's Ok. It's hard for all of us to get up these days." They both laugh.  
"Still has a sense of humor..."  
"Did you bring..."  
"Of course, dear. Here you are." Meiki sniffs it.  
"Haaa..."  
"No samples..."  
"Aww..."  
"...I made some samples just for you, but don't tell your parents..."  
"Right." She eats the little bites. "Mmm..." Right behind Grandma Mimori was some other parents. "Grammmum! Grammpumm!" She runs to her grandparents and hugs them.  
"Hey, Meiki. I see you've already had some of Mother Mimori's Holy Apple Cobbler..."  
"Mmm hmm..."  
"Well, don't take the whole pan like you did last year..."  
"Mmm k." Then, she saw Minoru and his family. She quickly swallowed the cobbler as he approached her. iMinoru...Alias.../i  
"Meiki? Meiki...hello?" He said, snapping her back to reality.  
"Sorry."  
"Good evening, Ms. Asuka," his father said.  
"Good to see you, too, Maru...and you must be Sana, right?" The blonde haired girl next to her brother nods. "Nice to finally meet you. Come on in. We have enough food for everyone." They entered in, joining the other groups in conversation. Then, came Elly and her family.  
"Hi. We're here."  
"Glad you could make it..."  
"Well, from the way Elly here described your mom's food," The father said, "We couldn't pass this up..."  
"Yes," The mother said, "We are very happy to be here. Thank you for inviting us."  
"My pleasure. Please, come inside."

Everyone gathers at the table. Meiki's father noticed that there's one chair not being used.  
"Meiki? Who's this chair for?" She looks around at everyone...and remembered...iSeiji...guess he's still mad at me.../i

"Nevermind that," Meimi interrupted, "It is time for all of us to say what we're thankful for."  
"Well, I'll be thankful when we start eating," Her husband answered, getting a few laughs. "But, seriously. I am thankful for my family, long-time friends and that Meimi's cooking has improved greatly..." She punches his shoulder. "Ow!"  
"I am thankful that my daughter is able to do what she likes to do..."  
"Aww, mom..." Meiki said, blushing. "Guess it's my turn. I-" Then, the lights went out. iA blackout?/i Meiki could suddenly hear muffling sounds... iWhat's going on?/i Meiki guides herself through the darkness to a closet where there were flashlights. She turns one on and quickly runs back to the dining room, when she did, the lights suddenly turned back on. iWhere'd everybody go? They've all disappeared!/i

To Be Continued... 


	11. Chapter 11

Case 11: Attack of the Bloodboys, Part 2

"Mom! Dad! Seira! Grandma! Grandpa!"  
'Meiki...' A voice said in her head.  
'Aunt Angela?'  
'We're all in a car. We've been kidnapped!'  
'Why?'  
'Still not sure, but your mother wanted me to tell you NOT to try and save us...'  
'What? Why?'  
'She's your mother, dear. It's what we do...we don't want you to get into any trouble...'  
'Oh...'  
"Detective..." A familiar voice called. He appears before her.  
'Ok, Aunt Angela.'  
'We'll find some way out of this. Don't you worry.'  
'...Ok.' She looks at her admirer. "Alias...you weren't caught?"  
"Beg your pardon?" He said, confused.  
"I know who you are, Alias..."  
"Do you now? Listen, Detective, there's no time for this. Your family, friends and friends' family are in serious danger...this has the Bloodboys written all over it...they're trying to break you..."  
"Well, it's not going to work..."  
"Do you know where they are?"  
"No, but I can find out..."  
"Another one of your abilities. You never cease to amaze me..." She blushes. "Do what you have to do, Detective..." He was about to walk away when...she does the unthinkable and grabs his coat.  
"Wait! Please, help me...I don't think I can do this alone..."  
"Very well, Detective. Under one condition..."  
"Ok."  
"You say you know who I am, right?"  
"Yes, I do."  
"Then, don't try to find out who I am...for now." iWhat? That doesn't make any sense.../i  
"O...k...you have a deal." She pulls out her hand.  
"You're doing it already..." She quickly sets it down. iHe's good.../i  
"Sorry."  
"Have you discovered their location?"  
"Just one moment..." 'Uncle Alex, can you hear me?'  
'Loud and clear, Mei.'  
'Where are you guys?'  
'We're tied up and gagged in an empty room...'  
'Did you notice anything when they were taking you guys in?'  
'The only thing noticable is that this room is completely painted red...' iSo it IS the Bloodboys.../i 'We were blindfolded, so I can't tell you of our location...'  
'Are you all Ok?'  
'Yes, we're fine...'  
'Is everyone there?'  
'Hmm...let's see...yep...wait...someone's missing...'  
'Who?'  
'Well, Minoru's missing...oh, Elly's missing, too...and her parents...'  
'Weird...'  
'Yeah. Oh wait...the door is opening...oh, my, god...'  
'What is it, Uncle? Who's at the door?'  
'I can't believe it...Meiki, you may have to disregard what my wife told you...we're gonna need help on this one...I don't think your mother and I can do this alone...'  
'I can't help if I don't know where you guys are...who was at the door?'  
'...Elly and her parents...' iElly? She's part of the Bloodboys, too? And her parents? Who may not be her parents at all...'  
'Whatever you do, Unc, stay with me...'  
'I'm here.' She looks at Alias.  
"They're trapped in a red room, and Elly and those people who came with her are behind it all..."  
"They say the person you're looking for is the one you'd least suspect..." Alias quoted.  
"Yeah..." She said, agreeing.  
"What do you plan to do?"  
"I'm not sure what to do...I have nothing..."  
"Don't give up now, Detective...it's not your style..."  
"How do you know my style?"  
"I just know..."  
"...What do I do?"  
"You're the Detective. I'm just an unknown source of information..."  
"Then you should know where they are, right?"  
"I do not."  
"..." Her head goes down...Alias can hear sniffles.  
"Stop crying, Detective. Crying doesn't help your problem..."  
"..." A hand touches her chin. It lifts her head up.  
"Meiki...where is everyone? And why are you-" She looked around and noticed Alias was gone. She holds Minoru as she continues to cry.  
"I...don't...(sniff) know..."  
"Calm down. I'm sure we'll find them..."  
"How?" Then, she noticed a piece of paper fall from ceiling. "Huh?" She reads:  
62 32 83 32 73 41 43 83 32 82 71...81 42 43 62 52, 31 32 81 32 23 81 43 83 32. 81 42 43 62 52. iThink of what? There were no-/i  
"Clues...this isn't just a kidnapping..."  
"Meiki? What are you-"  
"This is..." She lets go of Minoru and looks on the dining room table, and saw a note. She reads it. "A ransom...look." Minoru goe over and looks at the note left behind.  
"'Quit your meddling forever or your friends and family will suffer...' Meiki...are you...going to..."  
"...No. It's not my style...I WILL find them..."  
"I'm with you...whoever did this took my family, too..."  
"It's Elly...she's the kidnapper..."  
"From what Seiji told me about her, she was pretty sick...though she didn't seem sick today..."  
"That was long a- Seiji!"  
"Huh?"  
"I need to settle something...please, stay here...wait for me..."  
"...Well, I haven't eaten at all..."  
"Go on. Eat. I'll be right back." She runs out the door and calls Seiji. iPlease, pick up.../i  
"*Hello?  
"**Hi.  
"*Meiki? What do you want?  
"**I need your help, please...my family and friends have all been kidnapped...  
"*What? How?  
"**Elly...she's one of the Bloodboys...  
"*Stay there. I'll be right over.  
"**Please, hurry.  
"*I'm on my way." She hangs up. Miutes later, Seiji arrives, practically out of breath. "I'm...here..."  
"As a Detective, I must ask you some questions about Elly..."  
"All right."  
"You have to tell me her sickness..."  
"I can't..." She grabs Seiji.  
"You listen well, Seiji Saila. Since you know the kidnapper, I can arrest you as an accessory to kidnapping..."  
"You couldn't prove that..."  
"Granted, I can't...but you will be held in custody..."  
"Ooh, I'm so scared...if you're done trying to interrogate me, I must be going..."  
"NO!" She grabbed him. "Please, I'm sorry..."  
"There are times to become Detective Asuka, Meiki, and other times to just be Meiki Asuka."  
"I need to know..." He sees the pleading in her eyes.  
"...She has a rare sickness...in the mind."  
"Huh?"  
"It's a disorder that shifts the way she acts...she may act innocent one moment, and cruel the next...it's close to Multiple Personality Disorder, but she is actually aware of it."  
"I see..."  
"Meiki, I think I may know where she is..."  
"Show me...please..."  
"Guess you'll listen to me next time, right?"  
"...I'm-"  
"Shh. Let's go save them." She stops crying and nods her head.  
"Right!" She walks back inside her house. "Minoru, let's-" She noticed a chair on the floor. iNo...not Alias, too.../i She sees another note. "'Got your boyfriend, too...give up and they will all live...'" iMy family, Minoru's family, and Seira's family...this just got personal.../i  
"Meiki?"  
"Take me to her..." She said, angry.  
"Meiki..."  
"Let's go! I can't wait any-" He holds her. She blushes. "This is no time for..."  
"Meiki...I need you to calm down...don't come at this with anger in your heart...we will get everyone back..." She nods, calming down. He lets go of her. "Let's go."

To Be Continued... 


	12. Chapter 12

Case 12: Attack of the Bloodboys, Part 3

Seiji takes Meiki to a tree across from a place called Dear Boobly Shard Quest.  
"What kind of place is this?"  
"I don't know. I've never been in here. She just mentioned it to me...she wanted me to meet her here if I wanted to go out with her..." They notice the guards up front. "They look pretty tough..."  
"I can handle them..." Seiji said, walking across the street. "Hey! I'm here to see Elly..."  
"Well, she cannot be disturbed now," One guard said.  
"I...am Seiji Saila."  
"Is that right?" The other guard said. "Just one moment..." The guard pulls out a walkie-talkie and calls up someone. "Yeah, there's some boy named Seiji who wants to come inside...uh-huh...oh...you got it..." The guard looks at him. "You're allowed to go in..."  
"Thank you. I'll put in a good word for you guys..." He enters, looking out for Meiki. He noticed she's gone. The guards closed the doors.  
"What took you so long?" A voice said in front of him.  
"Meiki how did you-"  
"No problem..." She shows her wand. "A simple trick."  
"Ok. I'll keep Elly distracted, you find everyone."  
"Ok...and Seiji?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Be careful."  
"Same to you." They split up. "Elly! I'm here!" As he continued to walk down a hallway, he collides with none other than Chika from school.  
"You? What are you doing here?" Chika tries to run. "I will ask you again...what are you doing here?"  
"None of your business!" She exclaimed, coming at him. He blocks and wraps her arm to her back. "Ahh! Let go!"  
"Answer me!" He shouted.  
"I'm here for Minoru..."  
"Huh?"  
"Some girl told me he was here..."  
"So you going to get him..."  
"Yes..." He lets go of her arm.  
"Well, go ahead. I'll be on my way." They separate, but Seiji slowly follows her. She takes him to a room. She opens it.  
"Minoru, oh my gosh!" She said, surprised to see him tied up. She goes and unties him. Seiji comes in.  
"Minoru, you Ok?"  
"You...you followed me!" She said.  
"Duh."  
"I'm fine," Minoru said, "Where's Meiki?"  
"She's going to find everyone else..."  
"We should try to find them, too..."  
"No. We'll only be in her way," Seiji objected. "She'll be fine."  
"You're right. Let's get out of here..." They head towards the exit.  
"You guys go ahead. I have to settle this thing with Elly."  
"Be careful, man."  
"Yeah." They separate.

Meanwhile, with Meiki...  
iThey have to be around here somewhere.../i She's going through hallway after hallway, looking through door after door, with no luck.  
'Uncle Alex?'  
'Yeah?'  
'Is there anything else different about the room you guys are in?'  
'Meiki, I can't talk right now. We're kinda busy...' Then, Meiki starts to hear sounds ahead.  
'Ok.' She runs towards the source, but is stopped by two guards. "Why isn't this job ever easy?" She asked herself with a sweatdrop on her head. "One! Two! Three!" The hat appears and out comes ribbons, tying the guards up. "Sorry, guys, I have to wrap up this case." iMy first pun...hee-hee.../i She opens the door.  
"Meiki!" Her mother said.  
"She's got a gun..." Uncle Alex said. Elly turns around.  
"Well, well...look who finally showed up." She said with an evil smirk.  
"Elly, stop this!"  
"Don't think so, Detective...unless you surrender to me...I will kill your family and friends, one by one...starting with the man who caught my father years ago..."  
"Dad..." She sticks the gun to his head. "NO!"  
"Surrender..."  
"...Ok. I surrender."  
"Get on your knees and BEG me not to kill your family..." She does as commanded.  
"Please...don't kill them..."  
"Good girl. Now, you will call up your boss and have him set all the members free..." She pulls out her phone. When she opened the phone, a little message popped on her screen. iHuh? Alias!/i She reads the note. iOk.../i She dials a number. Suddenly the lights went out.  
"Hey! What kind of trick is this!"  
"It's..."  
"You go, Meiki..." Little Seira said. Meimi gets up and joins her.  
"Show...time!" When the lights came back on, everyone but Meiki, Meimi and Elly were there. They're all shocked.  
"Where'd everybody go?" Meiki noticed the door opened...and when she looked to her right, she saw a figure with a long orange ponytail.  
"Saint Tail?"  
"Hello. Who are you?"  
"I'm Detective Meiki Asuka." Both girls are smiling at each other.  
"Hey!" Elly said, still holding her gun. "Saint Tail? The legendary thief? Here? How?"  
"Magic, of course." Elly suddenly changes.  
"I'm a huge fan!" She said.  
"One! Two! Three!" Meiki waves the wand, which pulls out a ribbon, wrapping around the gun, and with a slight pull, takes it from her fellow classmate.  
"Elly...I'm afraid I'll have to arrest you...for kidnapping."  
"...What? No! I can't go to jail..."  
"You won't...you'll be at a juvenile detention center..."  
"Please, don't make me go there..."  
"For what you have done...I don't have a choice. I'm sorry..."  
"Me, too..." Meiki cuffs Elly. Seiji opens up the front door.  
"Hey, I couldn't-" Then she saw Elly in handcuffs.  
"Seiji? You're here? Did that mean you-"  
"...No, Elly. After what you've done here, I don't think there will EVER be a chance for us..." She starts to cry.  
"I understand."  
"Where'd everybody go?" Seiji asked. "Could you be-" He said, looking at the thief. "Saint Tail?"  
"Seems that my reputation is still powerful around here..."  
"Is it ever...can I...have your autograph?"  
"Um...Ok." He pulls out an autograph book. She takes it and magically pulls out a pen. "Who do I make this out to?"  
"Seiji Saila...I'm a very big fan. Hearing of the amazing things you did, I took a bit of magic myself."  
"Really?" Saint Tail said, surprised. She hands him back his book.  
"You know magic?" Meiki asked.  
"Tricks, yeah."  
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"  
"You never asked?"  
"Could you show us one trick?"  
"Um...I guess?" He opens his hand, closes it and opens it again, revealing a rose.  
"Wow..."  
"Pretty nice trick." Saint Tail said.  
"Thanks. It's the first trick I learned."  
"Well, gotta go." She disappears. Minoru walks into the room.  
"Meiki! Are you O-" She runs and holds him.  
"Thank you..." She said, crying.  
"Huh?"  
"Thank you for everything..." Seiji looks shocked.  
"Um...don't mention it?"  
"All this time, you were protecting me..."  
"Meiki, what are you talking a-"  
"You are Alias..."  
"The stalker?"  
"Yes..."  
"Meiki," he said, letting go. "I am NOT Alias..." She looks up at him.  
"What?"  
"I'm not them..."  
"You have to be...I found the fangs and the fake blood...when we were on the roof..."  
"You were on my roof? How did you do that?"  
"You're...really not Alias?"  
"I'm sorry, Meiki. To be honest, I would want to be Alias...but I'm not." A piece of paper flies into the room. Meiki notices it and starts running to catch it, and she collides into Seiji.  
"Ow!"  
"Sorry..."  
"What is with you and catching flying airplanes?" He said. She catches it and opens it. iGlad you've decided to keep your end of the bargain. Don't worry about your gang. They're all safe at your place. You guys should probably get going. Your food is getting cold. Happy Thanksgiving, Detective. Alias./i She seemed more confused than ever. Then, she remembered their deal back at her house...  
***Don't try to find out who I am...for now...***  
iWho...is he?/i

Everyone is re-gathered at the Asuka's...including Seiji.  
"I believe it was my turn," Meiki said, remembering. "I am thankful that you all are Ok...that we are all here together...and for a very special friend...Alias."  
"Ok, enough chatting. The food's already cold!" Asuka Jr. said.  
"He's right," Grandpa Haneoka said. "Let's eat!" Everyone agrees, sits down and eats the food.  
"Wow. This is awesome!" Seiji said. "Who cooked it?"  
"I did," Meimi said, "with help from Meiki..."  
"Really?" He said, looking at her.  
"I helped a little..."  
"Stop being so modest..."  
"Anyway, it's great."  
"Thanks..." She looks at her plate, still wondering about Alias. iIt's not Minoru...he's not Alias.../i  
"Meiki, can we talk?" A voice said. It was Minoru.  
"Huh?" She said, looking at him. "Sure..." The two teens seaparate from everyone to her living room.  
"Meiki, I know I'm not Alias..." She looks down. "But...I would really like it if we went out..."  
"You mean a date?"  
"Um...yeah. I mean, if you don't mind..."  
"...I'm sorry, Minoru. I can't."  
"It's Ok."  
"I started to like you believing you were someone you're not..."  
"So you really like this Alias person, huh?"  
"I'm not even sure who he is to like him in that way..."  
"Find out who he is...and let him know how you feel..."  
"What?"  
"Why not?"  
"I won't tell a stranger I like them. This is more of an 'impressed' like than a 'like' like..."  
"Oh..."

Meanwhile, in jail...  
"You may have captured me, Detective, but now I have the power to take down you and your entire FAMILY! Ha ha ha ha!" Elly maniacally laughed. "There's still one more of us out there...and she'll NEVER figure out who it is!"

End of Case 12 


	13. Chapter 13

Case 13: The Mother Of All Tricks, Part 1

An officer enters the Mayor's office in a hurry.  
"Sir!" The officer shouted.  
"What is it?"  
"This came in the mail, sir." The officer hands the Mayor the package. The Mayor opens it.  
"A videotape?"  
"It can't be..." The Mayor said suddenly, reading the label.  
"What is it, sir?"  
"After 22 years...the ancient mystery is solved!" The Mayor said with a grin. "Get the men ready. We're gonna make history."  
"Yes, sir!" The officer saluted.  
"I still can't believe it...I hate to do this, but it must be done."

Back at the Asukas...

"Mom!" Meiki exclaimed.  
"What happened?" Meimi asked, coming to her daughter's aid.  
"I can't get this trick right..."  
"Here. I'll show you again..." She shows her again. "Got it now?"  
"I think so..." The phone rings. Meimi goes to it and answers:  
"Hello?"  
"Meimi...get out of there..."  
"Asuka Jr.?"  
"Leave the house!"  
"What's going on?"  
"They...know..." Her eyes went wide. Suddenly, there's a bang at their front door.  
"Take Meiki and leave the house NOW!" He shouted...then nothing. No breathing, no sound...just silence.  
"ASUKA JR.!" She hears the banging again.  
"Mom? What's going on? Was that dad on the-"  
"Meiki, let's go."  
"Where?"  
"Anywhere but here..." The door breaks. The officers barged in the house to find no one there.  
"Area's clear, sir," An officer spoke through his walkie-talkie to the Mayor.  
"They couldn't've gone far. Split up and search the city. Now that they're on to us, that'll make this more interesting..."

"Why are we running, Mom?" Meiki asked.  
"It seems that they know who I was years ago..."  
"What! How?"  
"I'm not sure, but I'm sure that they won't stop until I'm caught..."  
"Where will we go? If we visit any of our friends house, they could find us easily..."  
"You're right. Think. Where can we lay low?"  
"...I'm not sure..." Then, Meiki thought of somewhere. "How about the USA?"  
"How are we going to get to the airport? They have likely placed posters of me for a reward." Then, they see just that. "I'm starting to not like being right..."  
"Me, too...so what do we-" Then, Meiki sees a sheet of paper, flying. iAlias.../i She looks around. No one. She grabs the paper. The ladies stop.  
"Why are we stopping?" Her mother asked. Meiki reads the note:  
51 82 74 81 74 81 32 93 73 43 41 42 81 81 42 32 73 32 21 62 31 53 32 81 61 32 42 21 62 31 53 32 81 42 32 73 32 74 81... iHuh?/i 81 73 82 74 81 61 32. i...Ok./i  
"Mom, it's a note from Alias..."  
"What about it?" Then, the officers see them.  
"You two! Freeze!"  
"He says to stand right here..."  
"Why?"  
"I'm not sure, but...I trust him."  
"How can you trust someone you don't know?"  
"I don't know...I just do. Please, mom..."  
"..." The officers are getting closer to them. "..." Just as the officers were about to tackle them, they vanish.  
"What the?" One officer said, looking shocked.  
"Man! So close..." The other cried.

When Meiki and Meimi reappeared...they were in a familiar location.  
"We're..." Meimi started.  
"In St. Paulina's Chapel..." Meiki finished.  
"That is right." A voice said. They look to the source.  
"Alias..."  
"Nice to see you, too, Detective...Saint Tail." She's shocked to hear that name come from his mouth.  
"You...you told the cops who I was!" Meimi shouted.  
"Think, thief. If I'm the one who told them who you were, why save you?" Meimi stays silent.  
"Mom, he wouldn't do that..."  
"How do you know that? You don't even know him!"  
"I'm not sure myself, but I believe him..."  
"There's no time for that. Detective, I am sad to say the authorities have taken your FATHER."  
"Dad? Why?"  
"No..." Meimi faints.  
"Mom!"  
"She'll be fine..." Alias said. "He is being tried as an accessory to the thefts your mother committed over 20 years ago..."  
"That doesn't make any sense..."  
"It makes perfect sense. After all these years, your father has known your mother's secret identity, but did not report her to the Mayor...the first Mayor."  
"...Dad..."  
"He has been arrested and is currently in custody."  
"How do I get him out?"  
"You will need help," A familiar voice said, behind them. Meimi awakens to that voice as well...as she recognized it as her best friend's.  
"Seira?"  
"Sister Seira...you know Alias?"  
"That I do, Meiki. That I do." The two Asukas looked surprised. "But now's not the time to explain. We'll need to plan this out somewhere secluded..."  
"I have a location. Let us go." They all vanished just as the officers entered the chapel.  
"It's all clear here, sir." The officer said again.  
"All right. Go to Plan B."  
"Roger that, sir. Plan B, guys!"  
"Right!" They all said and left the chapel.

The gang have appeared in a blank room with no windows.  
"This is perfect," The nun said, approving. Then, Meiki realized something...  
"Hey, where's Alias?"  
"Don't worry about him. We have to clear your mother's name...again, and free your father from prison."  
"Seira..." Meimi said, starting to cry.  
"Meimi, listen to me. I have long anticipated this getting out..."  
"You mean...you knew?"  
"Yes. I knew many things...like your daughter would become a Jr. Detective just like her father...that she would find the Bloodboys...and this."  
"You knew all this? And didn't mention it?"  
"It was not meant for you to know ahead of time."  
"Sister," Alias said, appearing in front of her. "I have unfortunate news..."  
"What is it, Alias?"  
"Yeah?" Meiki asked, curious.  
"The Mayor has done the unthinkable...he's taken every one of your friends..."  
"My friends?"  
"The red-haired boy..." iMinoru.../i "The black haired boy..." iSeiji.../i "And..." Alias hand an item to Sister Seira.  
"They've taken little Seira..." iSeira.../i Meiki sets her head down...  
"This..." Meiki said silently.  
"Honey?" Her mom said.  
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Her daughter exclaimed, pointing at her.

To Be Continued...  
End Of Case 13 


	14. Chapter 14

Case 14: The Mother Of All Tricks, Part 2

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Her daughter exclaimed, pointing at her.  
"What?"  
"You did this..."  
"Meiki, I-"  
"Meiki, calm down..." Seira said.  
"No! All because of her, my friends...they've-"  
"...If that's how you feel, Mei...ok. I'll turn myself in."  
"Huh?" Meiki said.  
"I love you, Mei. I don't want anything but you to be happy. And I know your friends make you happy..."  
"...Mom...wait..."  
"One!"  
"Meimi, don't do this..."  
"Two!"  
"Mom..."  
"Th-" Suddenly, Meiki grabs her mother. "Mei?"  
"...I'm sorry." She said silently, still crying.  
"Please...I need you..."  
"But...your friends..."  
"Mom, you can't...I'll lose you...I can't lose you..."  
"...All right, honey." She holds her child. "We will get everyone back. I promise."  
"Hey, Meimi...remember back when we were kids? And there was that party at the school?"  
"Which one?"  
"The one where everyone dressed like Saint Tail?"  
"What?" Meiki asked. "You don't plan on lying in court, do you mom?"  
"Well..."  
"You can't...dad wouldn't like it."  
"(sigh) She's right."  
"Alias?"  
"Yes, Detective?"  
"Why would the Mayor kidnap my friends? The Mayor can't do that...right?"  
"Well, Detective, the Mayor can interrogate your friends and hold them in custody. Only for about 24 hours."  
"So they'll be released the next day?"  
"I don't think it'll be that easy, Detective. I have seen the way the officers have taken your friends...it's not in accordance to our law..."  
"So what the Mayor is doing...can be considered against the law, right?"  
"Perhaps..."  
"I'm curious," Meimi said, just thinking about something. "What happened to the old Mayor? I don't ever remember him resigning..."  
"You drive a good point, Mom. Alias? Do you know?"  
"That I do, Detective. The Mayor was forced out of office."  
"What? How?"  
"...Blackmail."  
"Blackmail?"  
"The Mayor was having an affair with another woman other than his wife."  
"Whoa..." Meimi said shocked.  
"Who was the other woman?" Meiki asked.  
"That's not important. The Mayor's wife wanted him to resign from the office because he spent more time there than with her...and most of us here know why."  
"Huh?" Meiki asked, confused.  
"You'll understand when you're older, honey." Meimi quickly stated. "Please, continue."  
"The plan seemed perfect: The Mayor's wife did not want him to be Mayor anymore, and he later resigned...and because of the old Mayor's age, everyone thought he was retiring. When he announced his resignation, rather than there being another election to fill in his spot, he announced his successor. He fooled everyone into thinking that they were safe with this new Mayor. That was when the Bloodboys made their debut; their illegal business tactics flooding all over the city...until your father caught Elly's father, who was #2 to the leader. He was locked away for a long time. Since his capture, the Bloodboys' activities seemed to have completely vanish, but the truth of the matter was that they were doing it under the radar...and rather easily."

"Why? How? The Mayor gave me the case of the Bloodboys over a month ago..."

"It's really simple when you think about it." Alias continued. "Think, Detective. Why were the Bloodboys able to go in secret so easily?"

"Well...dad did capture someone long ago...and it seemed he always had a case overseas..."

"There's more...keep going."

"Because dad wasn't there, there was alot more underground crime...but if that was the case, then the Mayor should've assigned someone else for the case...and he did...me...knowing my father's rep, well aware that I have his abilities, gave me those cases to capture only one person at a time...but he was unaware of my connection with Saint Tail with my magic...and that I was able to capture so many Bloodboys at once...oh...my..."

"Mei?" Meimi said, looking confused.

"Mom, the Mayor...he's a Bloodboy...the leader of the Bloodboys..."

"What?"

"It all makes sense. Leaving me and dad occupied, his partners in crime were able to commit their crimes 'under the surveillance'...and when I was able to round up most of them, he was surprised...he didn't expect me to do what I did..."

"Still sharp as ever, Detective..."

"But if the Mayor is the one behind all this...won't he let his gang out of prison?" Seira mentioned.

"No. He won't...he needs to stay in character, so they'll still be locked up until they get rid of dad...and me. We're the only ones who were able to catch them. With us out the way, they could commit all the illegal crimes they want..."

"Daiki..."

"I have a plan," Alias said, "but I will need Saint Tail's help..." They all look at Meimi. She nods. She transforms into her alter-ego. "Here's what you do..."

TBC...  
End of Case 14 


	15. Chapter 15

Case 15: The Mother Of All Tricks, Part 3

At a prison cell, where Meiki's friends are being held...

"When are you going to let us go?" Little Seira said. The Mayor walks up to Seira.

"You won't be let go until your little friend gives up her mom and her dad is arrested..." He said, squishing her cheeks.

"I know my mom didn't vote for you..."

"And yet, here I am. That old fool was ready to retire anyway...so I just made it happen faster..."

"Yeah right." She said, trying to get him to spill on how he did it.

"Well, Ms. Sassy-mouth, how do you explain this?" He said, pulling out a contract and shoving it in her face. "There's the old coot's J.H. right there...and now here we are..." Then, the lights went out. "What the-" When they popped back on, the captives were gone. "Where'd they go?" He calls some guards on his walkie-talkie. "They've escaped! Find them!"

"So you're Alias?" Seira said, looking at the mysterious figure.

"Come with me. I have a safe place where you can hide out until this all blows over..."

"What about Meiki?" She asked, worried about her best friend.

"Don't worry about her. She'll be just fine. Come on." They all followed him.

Daiki's trial begins. As Seika City was about to call him to the stand, the doors to the courthouse bust open. Everyone turns around to see Meimi.

"Meimi!" Her husband screamed out. He struggles against the guards to protect his wife, but to no avail. Meimi has cuffed instantly. Then, she was called to the stand. The lawyer walks to her and asks that million-dollar question:

"Meimi Asuka, are you or are you not Saint Tail?"

"I am...NOT Saint Tail." Daiki looks up in shock, but knew better.

"Is that right? Then how do you explain this videotape of you facing off against a woman named Rosemary?" The lawyer takes the tape to the TV for everyone to see. Her battle with Rosemary is revealed. "Isn't that you on the tape, Mrs. Asuka?"

"Yes. It is."

"But you just told everyone here that you are not Saint Tail..."

"I'm not."

"Care to explain?"

"Of course. That is me on the videotape facing Hippo lady...but I am NOT Saint Tail."

"So you're saying that the person on that tape is NOT Saint Tail?"

"Correct. That's me."

"Don't make any jokes here...you are in a court of law..."

"And I am telling the truth the whole truth and nothing but. I am NOT Saint Tail."

"Ok, let me rephrase: Were you Saint Tail?"

"Yep. That was me, too."

"So you admit to being Saint Tail?"

"I was Saint Tail...but I'm not her...look at my hair. I can barely make a ponytail with this. Also, as much as she was a thief, she was also a hero...everything that was stolen from their owners were brought back to their rightful owners...so it's not even considered stealing..."

"As you can see, your honor," Daiki said, standing up. "My wife was Saint Tail...but she's done nothing illegal."

"Also, your honor," A voice said as the doors were opened again, to reveal Meiki with some other people. "The defense has many witnesses that can vouch that what my mom is stating is 100% true." Testimony after testimony, the judge no longer sees where this case was going.

"It seems to me that she, Saint Tail, was just being the kid who helped the little ones against the bullies. It's pure child's play to accuse her of any real crime. The fact that Mr. Asuka here kept her secret was simply because of love...and love can make you do some weird things...Mrs. Asuka, on behalf of Seika City, we all owe you our apologies...and our deepest thanks. Case dismissed." The judge said, banging the gavel, making it official. Meimi and her man were uncuffed. They went to console their daughter.

"One...two..three!" She whispered, snapping her fingers. Just then, the baliff receives a piece of paper.

"Sir, take a look at this..." The Baliff said, handing him the paper.

"... ... ... ... ...Give me a subpoena form and round up the force at City Hall." Then the paper vanishes from the judge's hands. "Weird." The Baliff hands the judge the paper. As soon as he signs it, it also disappears from his hands. "Hey!"

"I'm sorry, your honor, but I have to take this. Gotta go..." Meiki said, leaving.

"Good job, honey."

"Thanks, mom." She leaves.

"She really is our daughter, isn't she?"

"Yep."

Back at City Hall...

"Guys? Guys!" The phony said. "Have you found those brats yet?" Then he sees some police officers. "About time. Where are they?" The officers move away to reveal...

"I'm sorry, Mayor, or should I say, leader of the Bloodboys," Meiki said with a grin. "They are no longer your concern. You're under arrest. I even have a subpoena for it. Book him, boys." The Mayor was sent to jail amongst his colleagues for a long time. "One more thing to do."

At the old Mayor's home, he hears a knock on the door. He walks to his door and opens it to see no one, but then a paper was flying toward his hands. It was the contract he signed. When he flipped the back, he saw a message:

'What you did was unforgettable...I will always remember it. I haven't felt such selfishness in my life. You put the entire city in peril...but God is a forgiver...and so am I.

Best wishes,

St. Tail'

When they watched the Mayor being arrested on TV, the former captives looked to Alias.

'Good work, Detective,' he thought.

"So we can leave now, right?" Seira said.

"Yes." Alias vanishes.

Meiki goes home with her parents.

"With the fraud Mayor arrested and the blackmailed Mayor retired, who will be the new Mayor?" Meimi asked.

"How about you, dad?" Meiki suggested.

"You guys are enough for me," he answered.

"Hey!" They both said together.

End of Case 15 


	16. Chapter 16

Case 16: Christmas Gift

Daiki actually decided to take his daughter's advice, and ran for Mayor, but lost to the Asuka's old friend Rina Takamiya.

"So what are you going to do for Christmas, Meiki?" Seira asked.

"I don't know..."

"Maybe get a gift for your stalker..." 'Hmm...give Alias a gift?'

"Hey!" She said, getting what her friend just said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm doing volunteer work with mom to help give toys to those less fortunate."

"Well, then I guess I should give you this early..." She said, pulling a wrapped gift out of her bookbag.

"For me? Meiki..."

"Merry Christmas, Seira." She opens it and sees...

"Wow...nunchucks. Thanks."

"No problem. Just be careful with them, Ok?"

"You got it..." The boys walk over to them.

"Hey, ladies," Minoru said.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"Giving out gifts early, huh?"

"Nope. Just to her."

"Meiki..."

"Huh?"

"I have a gift for you."

"Really? Lemme see! Lemme see!" She said, excited. He goes to his area and comes back with a box. "Aww...you shouldn't have..."

"But don't open it until Christmas day..."

"Aww...no fun."

"What about you, Seiji?" Minoru said. "You giving out gifts to anyone?"

"Nope. I'm broke."

"Honestly, you need to learn to save money..."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Anyway, did you guys hear? Mayor Takamiya is having a Christmas bash to celebrate her new position. Everyone is invited."

"Can't."

"My dad is forcing me to go," Meiki said. "'It's always a good idea to help support someone for the right cause.' She was his opponent..."

"Well, I voted for your dad, Meiki," Minoru said.

"You didn't do that because of me, did you?"

"Well..."

"I just wanted to see a female Mayor," Seiji interrupted, saving his friend from sheer embarrassment.

"So you voted for her," Meiki scolded.

"Yep."

"Typical boy."

"Just for that, I'm not giving you your gift..."

"You just said you were broke..."

"I bought everyone's gifts...so now I'm broke."

"So you did buy gifts..."

"Yep, and now you can't have yours. I can sell it back and get my money..."

"Fine." She said, pouting. "I'll do the same thing with your present."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Both of them separated.

"They're like a cute couple," Seira said, giggling. Meiki blushed.

"Yeah..." Minoru said, slightly ticked at her remark.

"Ooh, I smell a love triangle..."

"A what!" She said. "Seira..." She gives her friend that evil scold.

"Or...maybe not...heh heh..." She said, grinning nervously and going to her seat.

"All right, class," Sister Josephine said, entering her classroom. "To your seats." Everyone gets seated. "Today, we have a very special guest to honor one of our own students." Everyone oohs at the announcement. "Presenting, our new Mayor, Mrs. Takamiya." The class clapped as she entered...except Meiki.

"Hello, everyone," She saiys with a smile. Then, she looks at Meiki. "I am not here to tell you to stay in school, but you should. I am here to re-honor a classmate of yours. Meiki Asuka." She looks surprised. They all clap, looking at her.

"Me?" She asked.

"Please, come to the front so I may give you this." She said, showing her a familiar item.

"But I have one already," she said, coming to the front of the classroom and pulling it out.

"Not like this, you don't," she said, showing her the badge in full view. "On behalf of Seika City, I am honored to make you the youngest Honorary Detective in our town's history."

"A full-pledged detective?"

"Yes. You deserve it."

"...I'm sorry. I can't take it." The whole class looked shocked at her refusal.

"Why not, my dear?" The teacher asked.

"It's personal...I'd rather not say."

"Just know, it's always here for you when you're ready to take it. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Oh, and no hard feelings with winning against your father, right?"

"...I guess."

"Great. It was nice being here again...it's been a long time. Glad to see the school is still making a name for itself since Saint Tail. Bye, everyone." She takes her leave as Meiki takes her seat. When Meiki gets to her chair she noticed a note on her desk. iAlias?/i She opens it:

Detective, 61 32 32 81 61 32 63 62 81 42 32 73 62 62 33. 91 32 62 32 32 31 81 63 81 21 53 52. iHuh?/i

At lunch, Seira asked the question her friend knew was coming:

"What happened up there? Was it because she won over your dad?"

"No..."

"Why didn't you take the badge?"

"Seira...I've thought of what could happen if I became an honorary detective..."

"Yeah? And?"

"I just can't do it..."

"Isn't this your dream? To be better than your dad?"

"It is...was..."

"Meiki, talk to me...you're leaving something out..."

"I don't want to say..."

"Why? Because I might talk you into reconsidering about your dream?"

"Yes."

"Is the reason really that bad?"

"It is to me...I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? You've done nothing wrong. If you don't want to tell me, it's fine..." Meiki suddenly disappears. "Meiki? Meiki!" 'Is she really that upset?'

Meiki reappears on the roof.

"Huh? How did I get here?"

"I brought you here, Detective," said a familiar voice.

"Why? What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"You already know why I brought you here, Detective."

"...You're not talking me out of it..."

"No, I'm not. Everyone will be asking, though. Don't let this eat you alive, Detective."

"I'm only here until your school bell rings..."

"...You mean...?"

"You don't have to, Detective...it's your choice. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do...you've been there for me since the beginning...though I don't know a single thing about you..."

"Tell you what, Detective. I'll tell you a little about myself...just a little..."

"Really?"

"Consider it...a christmas gift."

"Ok..."

"In return..."

"I understand." She said, knowing the bargain. "Alias, you know how much I enjoy being a Detective...but I don't think I could do this everyday..." Alias understood what she meant when she said 'this'.

"I'm sure your parents will support you in anything you choose to do...and it is not your job to worry about them."

"It's just my nature..."

"I am aware of that. You cannot constantly worry for your family in this position. Maybe you would like to take a break from detective work..."

"Maybe..."

"That is understandable. It can be never-ending, but thrilling at the same time."

"Yeah."

"I will be calling you soon, Detective."

"Why do you keep calling me Detective?"

"It is who you are."

"Stop calling me that...I have a name, you know..."

"Of course, Ms. Asuka."

"Meiki..."

"It is rude to call you by your first name..."

"It's rude NOT to!" She exclaimed. "I don't think of us as just 'co-workers', Alias. I think of us as friends, too."

"I understand, Meiki."

"That's better...now about you..."

"Of course." He talks a little about himself. "There you go."

"Wow, you've done all that?"

"Yes. Now, get to class," he said, vanishing.

"And..." Meiki says, knowing what's going to happen next. And on cue, the bell rings. "Right on time."

When Meiki got back in class...

"Meiki? Where were you?" Seira asked.

"On the roof...with Alias."

"Ooh, your stalker kind of likes you, it seems..."

"He's not my stalker!"

"Of course not..." She said, jokingly. iI finally know a little about him...I wonder if I should give him a present.../i

After school, Meiki catches Seiji before he leaves.

"Huh? Did you want something, Meiki?"

"I need your help."

"Ok...what's the problem?"

"I need to get a gift for someone..."

"Ok...and it's a boy, right?"

"Right."

"Ok. So you want me to tell you what boys like or something?"

"Right."

"Well, the thing is, we won't know until we go check some places out..."

"Huh?"

"You know...cruise around the mall a bit, and I can show you what boys would like...for a gift."

"How'd you know that?"

"It was pretty obvious. That's not all that's obvious..."

"Huh?"

"This gift...it's for the stalker, isn't it?"

"He's not a stalker! But yes, it is..."

"Okay. This may be more difficult...guess we should get started." He grabs her hand as they run down the hall to the exit. Meiki blushes at his close contact with her. When they were out the school, Seiji looked back at Meiki. "You Ok?" Then, he notices she's looking at their hands. "Oh, I must be stopping your circulation. Sorry."

"It's Ok."

"Do you still want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Ok." They walk together to the mall. When they arrived there, they went around and saw things, suits, coats, watches, games, and lots more. "Wow. You guys like all of that? Even clothes?"

"Yep. You must understand something, Meiki. A girl just thinking about a guy is a blessing to him."

"Really?"

"Yep. So the fact that you want to buy this guy something, must mean you think about him often..."

"Didn't mean to get all personal..."

"...It's Ok. You're right."

"Why don't we take a break? Have a bite to eat?"

"Ok. I didn't have lunch today." Meiki and Seiji sat down at a table and talked pretty much about Alias. "And that's why I don't like it when you guys call him a stalker..."

"Wow, I had no idea. He sounds pretty cool..."

"He is..."

"So let's get him something..."

"Really? Wait, I thought you were broke..."

"When I say 'broke', I usually mean that I don't have most of the money I am given."

"Oh."

"So did you decide what to give him?"

"There was that suit I saw at the clothing store, but I don't know his size or anything..."

"Point taken. Might want to get him something else."

"How about a watch?"

"Size, remember?"

"Right. You think he's into games?"

"I wouldn't know..."

"He's probably not...wait! I think I got it!"

"Great! What is it?"

"I don't have to buy it. I already have it."

"Huh?"

"If you can't figure it out, too bad. Can't tell ya."

"Well, as long as you got something for him." Then, he saw an arcade. "Hey, let's go in the arcade for a while."

"Why?"

"I feel like playing games..."

"Just how 'broke' are you?"

"C'mon..."

"...Ok." She follows him to the arcade, where they played a bunch of games. "I've never had so much fun..."

"Glad to hear it." He noticed a car driving game. "Ever wondered how to drive?"

"Of course! Why?"

"I see a race car game over there..."

"We've already spent 20 dollars..."

"Don't worry. I got us covered." She goes to the game. "Have a seat." She sits down and he joins her. "Now, from what I heard, you put your hands on 10 and 2..."

"Huh? There are no numbers on the wheel..."

"I think it referred as 10:00 and 2:00."

"Oh." She places her hands there.

"Good. Now when a right or left turn lane approaches, you steer the wheel to the left or to the right."

"Ok."

"Ready?"

"Yeah." The game starts and Meiki is doing horribly. "Ah!" She said, crashing the car. "Guess I wasn't ready."

"That's fine. We should get going back home."

"Oh, you're right. It's getting dark." They left the mall and went back towards her house. When they arrived at her doorstep. "Well, thanks again for your help."

"No problem. You're going to the Christmas party the Mayor is having at City Hall, right?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Guess I'll see you then."

"Bye." She closes the door, just to see her parents speaking with the Mayor. "What is she doing here?"

"Meiki, manners."

"Sorry."

"I came not just to talk to you, Meiki, but to catch up with old friends..."

"You see, Meiki, Rina and I went to St. Paulina's together."

"What?"

"It's true," he father confirmed. "She is the old Mayor's niece, after all."

"What?"

"Who was that at the door just now? Was it a boy?" Meimi asked, curious.

"Mom!"

"You know, I fell for your father when we were your age..."

"I know. You've told me a million times..."

"So where did you go?"

"I went to do a little late Christmas shopping for a friend."

"With a friend?"

"MOM!"

"Sorry."

"If you must know, it was with Seiji."

"Oh really?"

"Anyway, Meiki, I was wondering if we could talk in private?" Rina asked her.

"I guess..." They went outside the house.

"I didn't come to talk you into taking the job, I came to talk about the pros and cons of this job." She gives Meiki the cons first. "So it makes sense why you would not want to take this position. But there are so many good things about it." She speaks of the pros to being a Detective. "Did you not feel and enjoy the satisfaction of closing a case?"

"Of course."

"God doesn't give these abilities to just anyone...so for you not to use them is just a waste...you know what I mean?"

"Just thought I'd let you know that. It was nice seeing you again, Meiki." She said, pulling out her hand. "Perhaps we will be seeing each other more often..."

"Maybe..." She said, taking her hand and shaking it. The Mayor takes her leave.

"Meiki," a voice said. She ran a bit from her door and looked up at her roof.

"Alias?"

"I can't be here long, Meiki. I have business to attend to." An item appears in her hand.

"What's this for?"

"We'll be in touch."

"Wait! I have something for you, too..."

"Is that right?" She vanishes from the ground to the roof.

"I want you to have this." She said, handing him her badge. "I couldn't've gotten this without you...thank you."

"You're welcome, Meiki. We'll be in touch." She reappears back on the ground and he vanishes from the roof. She looks at the item he gave her...a bow. She goes inside her house with it.

"What's that, honey?" Meimi asked.

"Did Mayor Takamiya give you that?"

"No. Alias did."

"Well that was nice of him."

"Yeah."

End of Case 16 


	17. Chapter 17

Case 17: Kissing, Part 1

Mistletoe. The traditional hanging of it over doors and the top of hallways...and the one true fear of Meiki Asuka.

"Mom, do we have to put mistletoe at the front of the door?" Meiki asked.

"It's tradition, honey."

"Don't worry, Mei," Her mom assured. "You don't have to kiss anyone..."

"Whew..."

"They'll be too busy trying to kiss you..."

"MOM!"

"Sorry, honey. The only way I see you getting out a kissing is if you never answer the door or stand by it for too long."

"You mean you would let a complete stranger kiss me?"

"Of course not...but should any of your boyfriends come over...like that red-headed boy...or Seiji...or your admirer..." 'A kiss...from Alias? Ha, not likely...' she thought. 'But...ah! Stop thinking about kissing, Meiki, you don't like to do it...'

Later that day, Meiki went with Seira and Mother Seira for some advice.

"You have kissed a lot with your guy, right?" She asked the elder.

"Yes...he is my husband."

"Are you thinking about kissing someone?" Little Seira asked.

"No! You know I don't like kissing..."

"I always wondered why..."

"I'm curious, too..." Her mother agreed. Then, they both grinned at each other and Meiki felt something strange coming. "Meiki?"

"Y-y-yes?" Both Seiras look at her with eyes of interest.

"Tell us! Tell us!" They said.

"Please don't make me do it..."

"Please?" They said with their most cutest pouts.

"(sigh) It happened back in kindergarten...it was around this time. It was our last day of school before winter break...and mom had me help her make cookies for all my friends..."

"Aww...that's sweet."

"So before class ended, I gave everyone their cookies..."

"Yes?"

"And as I gave the last student a christmas cookie..."

"YES?"

"He...STOLE MY FIRST KISS!"

"NO..."

"Since then, I've always thought of guys to be awful...and not very nice to girls at all."

"So he kissed you on your lips?"

"No! I noticed what he was about to do, and I moved my face just in time...but he still STOLE MY FIRST-"

"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" They both shouted to her.

"Of course it does. He was the first boy who kissed me..."

"IT WASN'T ON THE LIPS!" They said again. "IT DOESN'T COUNT!"

"It does to me..."

"Don't let that stop your interest in boys..."

"...It hasn't."

"Really?"

"It just made me think twice about trying to have a close relationship with a boy."

"So you think you can have one now knowing your reason for not wanting one was kinda silly?"

"I guess..."

"Yippee!" Both Seiras said, smiling at each other. "So did you have someone in mind? Like, say...Minoru? Or Seiji?"

"Or Alias?" Seira's mom added. Meiki blushed when his name was mentioned.

"No. Minoru's not my type, Alias, though a very good friend, I hardly know anything about him...and Seiji...he...oh my g-"

"Nuh-uh," Seira said, shaking her index left and right.

"Sorry. I think...I went on a date with Seiji last week..."

"WHAT! When? Was it fun? Did you kiss him?" Her friend kept asking.

"Hold on. Maybe it wasn't a date," The nun suggested. "There are ways of knowing."

"Really?"

"Yes, sweetie. First of all, how were you guys dressed?"

"Our uniforms. We went right after school..."

"See, dates aren't usually immediately after school..."

"So it wasn't a date?" Her daughter asked her.

"We don't know yet. There are a few more questions to ask. Second question: Did you guys go out to eat?"

"We ate at the food court..."

"So no fancy food?"

"No."

"Who paid for the food?"

"He did."

"I thought he was broke..."

"Apparently not broke enough."

"Did you guys do anything after eating?"

"We went to the arcade..."

"What did you `play?"

"Shooting games, shooting hoops, car racing..."

"Wow..."

"One last question: Did you enjoy being with him?"

"...I guess so."

"Then it was a date..."

"You went on a date without realizing it?"

"Yeah..."

"At least it wasn't boring..."

"No, it wasn't..."

"Did he walk you home?"

"Yeah..."

"Aww...he does like you," Seira confirmed.

December 24, 12:00PM

Meiki is wrapping the gifts she got for her family and friends. Seira is helping her, since she had received her gift early.

"This is for Mom...this is for dad...Uncle Alex...Aunt Angela...Grandma...Grampa...Leslie..."

"Wow...how were you able to buy all this?"

"I save up every year. You shouldn't be surprised..."

"Yeah."

"This is for Minoru's dad...Elly..."

"After what she did..."

"We must learn to forgive..."

"You're beginning to sound like my mom...but you're right."

"And of course, Minoru...and Sei..."

"Wait...did you just say 'Sei'? As in Seiji?"

"Yeah...what's wrong with that?"

"You gave him a nickname?"

"I guess..."

"Meiki...is there something you're not telling me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You go out with him...on an unexpected date, now you have a nickname for him?"

"I don't see where this is going..."

"You...you like Seiji, don't you?"

"No, I..."

"You're not answering as strongly as you did the last time I asked you..."

"I..."

"You?"

"I said some stuff about him and I was completely wrong. He's not the jerk I thought he was."

"So what is he to you?"

"A really good friend."

"Don't give me that...you like him. A lot, it seems."

"I don't..."

"Then who is it? Because you're crushing on someone..."

"Is it Alias? Like mama said?"

"It is him, isn't it?"

"He's..."

"A mystery, I know."

"Yeah...he told me some things he did..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's amazing..."

"You really like this guy, huh?"

"I...do."

"Do you...like him enough to kiss him?"

"What?"

"C'mon. Don't you want your first REAL kiss to be with the guy you like?"

"Well...yes, but..."

"But?"

"Well, he's probably too old for me...and-"

"You're probably right...you should ask him his age."

"What? I can't do that..."

"Why not? Have you given up trying to find out who he really is?"

"Of course not..."

"Then ask him."

"Ok, I will...or I would if I knew how..."

"Good point. By the way, nice bow."

"Thanks. Alias gave it to me."

"He gave you a present?"

"Yes...he's so sweet..."

"Did you get anything for him?"

"I gave him my badge."

"What! But now, you're not a detective..."

"Of course I am...I'm just taking a break, that's all..."

"So you're going to take the honorary badge then?"

"Yes...when I'm ready."

"That's great!"

"Yeah."

"Find some way to contact your admirer. That way, you can find out more about him."

"Hmm...that's a good idea. Hey, your mom knows about Alias, too."

"Really? But knowing her, she won't reveal much."

"Yeah..."

"But since I am like my mom, you never know...it's worth a shot."

"Ok." After finishing the wrapping, they go to Seira's house to speak with Seira's mom, Seira. "Sister Seira..."

"Yes?"

"Could you...maybe..."

"He suspected you would ask about him..."

"I know a little...but I want to know more..."

"All I can tell you is how we met..."

"I'll take it."

"Very well. We met in the chapel. He was praying that he could help others with his gift he just received from God. The 'Alias' you know now wasn't always that way."

"How was he?"

"Sorry. I can't say. That would reveal his identity...and I promised not to do that."

"Ok...so what was the gift from God he received?"

"The same as your mother, Meiki. Magic."

"Oh."

"That's how he was able to do all things he told you."

"You knew?"

"God works in mysterious ways, Meiki."

"Ain't that the truth..." Little Seira said.

"Is there any way I can contact him?"

"Of course."

"How? Please tell me."

"Look up." Meiki looks up.

"Your ceiling?"

"No, silly...your bow."

"My bow? It's just a bow..."

"Is it?" Meiki takes it off her hair. She looks at it. She presses the center of it, triggering something.

"Huh?" The center of the bow opens up to reveal... "An earplug?"

"Put it on." She places the device in her ear.

"Meiki..." A voice said.

"Alias..."

"Looks like you figured out how to use the bow...not that I didn't expect it. This is your way of contacting me." She remembers back to when he gave her the bow. "We'll be in touch."

"Wait!" She shouted. "Could you come by my house tomorrow night?"

"Negative. I have a case."

"Let me help you...please."

"I've got this one covered. Take a break, Detective. Relax, have fun. Be a teenager. We'll be in touch." Nothing.

"There's your way of contacting him."

Back at the Asuka's...the family has come to celebrate, yet, another holiday.

"Everyone's here and settled in," Meimi said in joy.

"Great. Now, go to bed!" Daiki said.

"Aww...we just got here." Leslie said, sadly.

"The sooner you go to bed, the sooner Christmas will come." The kids were sent off to bed. Leslie slept with Meiki in her room. Meiki dreamt of the day she was back in kindergarten. As she gave her last classmate a cookie, he tried to kiss her. She looked puzzled at first, but quickly turned away. She looks back at the boy...'Minoru? Minoru was that boy? Red hair...red eyes...it is Minoru!' That woke her up, but she lied back to sleep.

TBC...

End of Case 17 


	18. Chapter 18

Case 18: Kissing, Part 2

Christmas Morning...

"Meiki! Meiki, wake up!" Her older cousin shouted, shaking her.

"Nnh..." Meiki wakes up, rubbing her eyes.

"It's Christmas, Meiki! Wake up!"

"What? Already?"

"Fast, right? C'mon! Let's get our unwrapping on!" The girls head downstairs to meet with the rest of the family, who were already unwrapping the gifts Meiki got for them. Meiki got hugged so much, she had to ask them to stop. Then, there's a knock on the door. Leslie answers it. "Seira!"

"Leslie!"

"Hi..."

"Ya!" As they were about to collide, Seira's mother stops them.

"It's Christmas. Can't you guys think about anything but fighting?"

"Sorry, mom."

"Anyway, here you go, Leslie."

"For me?"

"Actually it's from Seira." She opens it.

"Sensei's lucky blackbelt..." she starts to cry.

"I wouldn't've gotten it without you sucking me into martial arts..."

"I will treasure it! Thank you!" She goes and hugs her friend. Meiki joins the group.

"Hey."

"Here you go." Seira and Sister Seira give Meiki her gifts. A cross necklace and... "Mistletoe?"

"You're welcome," Little Seira said, winking. Meiki blushes. That reminded Meiki of the dream, or memory, she had yesterday. She asks her mom to help her do something.

"Sure, honey." After finishing the request, Meiki wraps it up. "Who's it for?"

"An old friend." Which triggered something else Meiki remembered: the gift Minoru gave her. She goes up to her room and pulls it out of her closet. She opens it up. Seira and Leslie walked into her room.

"Meiki, are you-" Then, they all see her present from Minoru. "Meiki...is that..." Seira said, looking shocked.

"Oh...my...gosh..." They both look at Meiki. "Meiki...who is that from?" Leslie asked.

"Minoru..."

"He really does like you..." Seira concluded, still looking at the gift.

"There's a note." She opens the envelope and reads it to herself.

'Meiki, I know at times I seem like the nonchalant type, but when I'm around you, I get nervous. I've never felt this way about anyone since kindergarten...' iMinoru...liked me then, too?/i 'I really like you a lot, Meiki. I thought this would be the way to show you how I truly feel. I'll be waiting for you at the Mayor's party tonight. Please bring it with you. Minoru'

"Aww..." The girls said, reading it from behind her. "What are you gonna do, Meiki?"

"I have to see him, anyway. I have to give him his present." She pulls her bow from off her hair and opens it like before.

"Cool." Leslie responded to her cousin's bow. Meiki places the earpiece in her ear.

"Alias..."

"Meiki?"

"I need to see you..."

"I can't right now...I'm busy closing this case..."

"Then meet me on my roof tonight..."

"I'm not sure if I-"

"Please..."

"Very well. 10:00."

"Ok..." She takes the earplug off.

"What are you going to do, Meiki?"

"You'll know soon enough..." Both girls leave as Meiki continues to look at the gift Minoru gave her. iWhy me, Lord?/i

After playing the new games they received as gifts, night fell as the girls got ready for the Mayor's party. Seira wears the white dress her mother wore at her age, sans top part that covered her hair. Meiki comes out in her long black dress with shoes that matched her hair, with the bow Alias gave her, putting her hair in a ponytail down her back.

"Wow, Meiki. You look awesome..." Uncle Alex said.

"That's my girl," Meimi said. Meiki blushes.  
"Go have fun."

"Remember to get here by 10:00." The girls leave. Meiki has the gifts for her friends with her.

At the Mayor's party...Minoru waits for Meiki.

"Yo," Seiji said, just arriving.

"Hey. Have you seen Meiki?"

"No. I guess she's not here yet." Then everyone heard the door open. When Meiki walked in... "Oh...wow..."

"She...looks...stunning..."

"Yeah..." She spots Minoru and walks toward them. She notices how they're looking at her and she blushes. iI have to do this./i

"Hey..." Minoru said, in a constant stare at his crush.

"Hi..."

"You look...wow..."

"Thanks. Minoru, about this gift..."

"Was it too much?"

"No, not at all. I love it..."

"So...will you..."

"...I'm sorry, Minoru. I can't accept this." She hands him back the ring. "I...I like someone else..."

"...I understand."

"Here." She gives Minoru his gift.

"A bracelet...with my name on it...it's wonderful." He puts it on his wrist. "Thanks."

"And here's something else. Do you remember this?" She said, handing him the cookie.

"That girl...that was you?" Then, Meiki kisses his cheek. "Meiki..." Seiji saw as Seira watched him.

"Merry Christmas, Minoru."

"Would you like to dance?"

"I don't know..." She said, looking at Seiji.

"Just one dance..."

"...Ok." He takes her hand and they hit the floor. Seiji watched, a little upset. He sits down in a chair and watches them, completely bummed. She sees his face. iSei.../i "All right, Minoru."

"Thanks for the gifts."

"Don't mention it." She walks over to Seiji. "Sei?"

"Huh?" He looks up at her green eyes. "Yeah?" She sits down.

"You didn't really give my gift back, did you?"

"You did!"

"I shouldn't give you this, then," she said, showing him a present.

"Fine, then I won't give you this," he said pulling out a gift.

"So you didn't take it back..."

"No..." They trade gifts. "Same time?"

"Ok."

"One...two...three!" Both teens opened their gifts. "Wow..."

"Sei...they're beautiful..." She said, wearing his gifts.

"I like it..." He said, putting the watch on. "This isn't fake silver, is it?"

"That depends," she answered, sarcastically. "Is this fake gold?"

"24-carat...they're the real deal."

"They must've costed you a lot..."

"Nah, they're on layaway..."

"What!"

"Just kidding." They both laugh. "But seriously, this isn't fake, right?"

"No, it's not fake..."

"Ok...thanks...sorry to hear about..."

"Oh...so you heard that..."

"I..."

"Can I ask you something?" She said, interrupting him.

"Yeah."

"When you took me out after school that day..."

"Huh?"

"Was that...a date?"

"What do you mean? You invited me, remember?"

"Well, yeah...but after we ate..."

"I just noticed the arcade nearby, so I thought, maybe you would've liked to go...'"

"Oh...I did had fun..."

"Yeah. I still can't believe you beat me at the hoops..."

"Hey, you challenged me..."

"Yeah..."

"You're the one who showed off in bowling..."

"I couldn't let you win at everything..."

"Oh, so you let me win, now?" She said. Seiji then looks out at the dance floor.

"Meiki, I know you already danced with Minoru, but..."

"Sure." She places her bow out of her hair, letting it fall down to her knees. She dances with Seiji, and Minoru watched in utter jealousy at their chemistry. "Now where did you learn how to dance?"

"It's a secret."

"I'll find out, you know..."

"I'm sure you will..." He dips her. "Mei, you do look beautiful tonight..." She blushes as they can't stop looking at each other. iSei.../i

"Sei..." He picks her up.

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?" She asked.

"A quarter to ten, why?"

"I have to get home!"

"Why?"

"Curfew."

"Oh yeah."

"Sorry..."

"Don't be. Go." She runs out the doors and raced home. Seiji then noticed her bow. "Uh-oh..." He goes running towards her house. iGotta get home.../i

She reached her house at 9:57.  
"Whew. Made it." She goes inside to change. When she got back out, she went back outside as the clock struck 10. She waits for him to appear...and as the tenth bell sounded...

"Meiki..."

"You're late..."

"I didn't say exactly at 10...what was it you wanted?"

"Take me up there with you." He takes her up on the roof. "Alias..." She said, pulling out the mistletoe.

"Meiki..."

"...I want you to..."

"I'm sorry, Meiki. I can't."

"Why not?"

"You will understand soon."

"Really?"

"Only when you find out who I am..." She looks down. "Don't cry, Meiki. I'm not the one your first kiss belongs to...and you know it."

"How did you-"

"I just do. You know how to contact me. We'll be in touch." She's still face down, tears in her eyes. Alias walks up to her and kisses her cheek. Her eyes were wide as saucers. "Merry Christmas, Detective." He vanishes before her eyes.

iHe just kissed me...how am I gonna get down? Oh, right.../i Just as she was about to pull out her wand, the wind blew dangerously, causing her to slip and fall on the rooftop and slide down off the edge. iNot again.../i She goes falling down with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, she sees that she's not on the ground, in pain; she's in someone's arms. She looks up at her hero.

"Sei..."

"Again, why are you on the roof? Here, you left this at the party." He stands her up and gives her the bow.

"Thanks..." They walk to her front door.

"Meiki?"

"Yes?"

"Um...my family and I...we're going out of town to the states for the big drop of the New Years ball in New York..."

"Wow...that sounds great..."

"Yeah...my mom told me I could invite someone to go with me..."

"I'm sure Minoru would love to go..."

"Well...actually, I want you to come with me..."

"Me? Really?"

"If it's Ok with your folks..."

"Hang on, I'll ask them." She closes the door and meets with her family.

"Mom, dad?"

"Yes?" They said, happily.

"Seiji just invited me to go to New York with his family. Can I go?"

"New York? As in the states?" Her father asked.

"Yes. For the big ball drop..."

"I don't know..." Meimi said, looking a little worried.

"She'll be Ok. Seiji's family is with her..." Her husband comforted. "...Alex, could you guys go with them?"

"I don't see why not..." Alex answered.

"All right! The Big Apple!" Leslie said, excited.

"Ok?" He said, still holding his wife.

"...I guess it's Ok, then."

"Oh, thank you, mom!" She runs and hugs her. She runs back to her front door. "Sei?" She sees no one at the door. She walks out. "Seiji?"

"Boo!" He said, leaping at her from the side of her house.

"Ah! Don't do that..." She said.

"So?"

"I can go, but my family from the states are coming, too."

"That's fine. The more the merrier."

"Well, I guess I'll see you then..."

"Yeah. Later." Seiji starts to walk away. iYou can't let him leave yet...do something, Asuka!/i She thought to herself.

"Sei, wait!" She said. He walks back to her doorstep.

"Yeah?"

"Look." She said, looking up. He follows her eyes upward.

"Isn't that a-" Before he could finish, her lips were touching his cheek. Not once, not twice, but three times. His cheeks went bright red. iHow cute.../i she thought. She smiles.

"Those were for saving me..."

"No...problem..."

"Good night..."

"'Night..." She closes the door. iMaybe this close relationship with boys won't be such a bad thing.../i  
End of Case 18 


	19. Chapter 19

Case 19: The New Years Confession, Part 1

I am FINALLY near the end of this series. There are three parts and then...poof. It's over.

It is December 29, and Meiki is packing for her trip to New York with Seiji and his family.

"Meiki..." Her mother called for her. She goes downstairs with her luggage. "Remember to call me..."

"Ok, mom."

"Have fun, kid," Her father said.

"I will."

"Meiki," Sister Seira asked. "Where is your bow?"

"Oh, I thought I wouldn't need it..."

"Take it with you...just in case," She said winking.

"O...k..." She goes back upstairs to get the gift from her admirer.

"All right. Alex has already packed your stuff up in the car. Stay safe, honey." She kisses her daughter on her cheek.

"Bye, everyone!" She waves and she gets in the car. Everyone waves and before they knew it, they were off to Seika City Airport.

Once there, they met up with Seiji and his family...plus an extra person Meiki couldn't believe she saw...

"You...how?" Meiki asked, still shocked to see her.

"Mei, it's Ok." Seiji assured. "Turns out she is my cousin. My folks bailed her out."

"No wonder her last name was the same as yours..."

"Yeah. Mom, this is Meiki..." His mom, long red hair, blue eyes and dressed in complete winter attire shakes her hand.

"So you're Meiki," she said, concluding. "Seiji can't stop talking about you! And now I finally meet you..."

"R-r-really?" She said, looking at him, blushing. Then, he blushed with his hand behind his back.

"Just a little," he answered.

"You're right, though, Seiji. She is cute..." His mom said, mocking him.

"Mom!"

"Oh..." She then noticed the earrings on Meiki's ears. "You bought her earrings? 24-carat, too!"

"Wow! You must've paid a lot. How much did you-"

'The 12:00 flight to New York has just arrived. Please begin to board the plane.' The announcer said.

"Oh! That's us!" His mother said. 'Saved by the plane,' Seiji thought.

After the remaining introductions...and apologies were made, both families board the airplane. Meiki sits next to her cousin, while Seiji sits next to his. Seiji's mother takes the window seat and so does Meiki's aunt Angela. Uncle Alex was nowhere to be found. "Meiki, where is your uncle?"

"Leslie, where's your dad?" Meiki asked.

"Hang on, I'll find out." She looks up. 'Dad?'

'What's up, honey?'

'Where are you?'

'I'm on top of the plane! It feels awesome! You should try it sometime...'

'...Not happening.' Leslie looks back at Sei's family, who all looked puzzled.

"You Ok?" Elly asked. "You kinda zoned out..."

"I'm fine. Mooooom, Dad's on top of the plane..." she said in a taddling tone. Again, the Sailas looked completely confused.

"You can't be serious..." Seiji said.

"Yep. It's likely," Meiki answered with a smile.

"Well we gotta-" His mom started, but she was stopped by Angela.

"My husband is fine, Niji. Thanks for your concern."

'Oh no I'm not!' He suddenly 'spoke'.

"Meiki, get your uncle back here before he falls off the plane..." Angela requested.

"...right." She pulls out her wand and places it to the empty chair next to her. "One! Two! Three!" And with a flick of the wand, Uncle Alex appears next to her, shocked out of his mind. Everyone on the plane watched her perform that trick and they all clapped. She looks around and blushes. "Are you Ok, Uncle Alex?"

"Yeah..."

"That was amazing!" His mom said, still surprised at it. "Maybe you could teach Seiji here some tricks?"

"Mom!"

"He's been trying to do tricks just like his hero...I mean, heroine..."

"Really?" Meiki asked. iAww...that's so sweet...and weird. He wants to be like my mom.../i

"Yeah," Elly answered. "But he's not very good. All he can do is make roses appear out of his hand."

"You, too, Elly?" Seiji said, outraged.

"I don't mind..." Meiki answered, a little embarrassed for him. She looks at him. "...if you don't..."

"...I guess I could use some help..."

"...Ok. Do you..."

"Huh?"

"Do you wanna start now?"

"I do!" A voice said behind her.

"Me, too!" A voice said across from their seats. Kids suddenly gathered around her.

"Huh?"

"Will you teach us?" A child asked.

"Please?" Another added. She looks at them.

"Um...Ok. Just one trick. Ok?"

"Yes!" They all agreed. She showed them the quarter-in-the-ear trick. "Wow!"

"...and that's how you do it." The kids try it out on each other. "Ok, guys. Back to your seats."

"Yayy!" They all said, hugging her.

"Ok, ok. You're welcome." The kids all went to their respective seats. Then, Meiki saw a hand reaching her ear. "Huh?" She turns to see it's Seiji's. She looks at it and sees the quarter. "That's it."

"Now that's TWO tricks you know," Elly said, joking.

"That was great!" Seiji's mom shifts her head to her son's ear and whispers, "I see why you talk about her so much..." He blushes...which made her blush.

As night fell on the plane, Meiki switched seats to Seiji's familiy's side.

"Sei?" He wakes up and looks next to him. He jumps up. "Sorry."

"Is something wrong?"

"No...well, there's something I want you to do..."

"Huh?"

"Could you do the flower trick again?" She asked with pleading eyes.

"Um...Ok." He closes his hand, then opens it. A rose is in his hand.

"Now...I want you to change it into a lily."

"Huh? How?"

"Like this," She said, grabbing his hand, covering the rose. He blushes at her hand on his. When she lets go, a lily is placed on his hand. "Ok? Now you try." She grasps his hand again, changing the flower back to a rose. He does what she did, but when he released his hands, the rose was gone..."Huh?" He looked to her and saw a lily in Meiki's hair.

"Well? How'd I do?" She looks at her lily.

"That was great..."

"It...looks nice on you." She blushes. He yawns.

"Th-thanks." She replied. His head falls onto her shoulder. She looks at him. iSei.../i She hears him snore. She giggles with her mouth covered, trying not to wake him up. Then, she rests her head on top of his, dozing off to sleep.

When morning came, all the family on both sides woke up except...yep, you guessed it. They all look as the two classmates are sleeping.

"You've got a snorer," Elly said to her aunt.

"Shh..." Leslie pulls out her cell phone and takes a pic of the sleeping pair. When the phone made the clicking sound, Meiki woke up. She sees everyone looking at her.

"(yawn) morning."

"Hey." Leslie said, grinning. She noticed her family is on the wrong side...

"Huh?" She looks to the side she's on and looks down to see Seiji still sleeping. iI must've dozed off.../i Then, she remembered the clicking sound. "What was that clicking sound?"

"My camera," Leslie admitted. "I'm sending a pic to Seira back in Japan."

"What pic?" Meiki asked, a little steamed.

"Nothing," she quickly lied. Seconds later, Leslie receives a call. "Hello? I know, right? It was so cute..."

"Leslie..." Meiki said, fuming out the ears.

"I'm on the phone, Meiki...uh-huh...oh..." She then looked at her cousin, now scared by her expression. "Yeah...you're probably right...bye!" She quickly hangs up. "Heh heh..." Then, Seiji wakes up. Meiki looks at him. He looks up at her.

"Hey..." He said, still half-asleep.

"Hi."

'Now approaching New York City, New York.' The captain spoke.

"We're here," she told him.

"Great." Meiki then noticed Leslie texting up a storm, but decides to ignore it.

When both families boarded off the plane and called 2 taxis, Uncle Alex, Aunt Angela, and Leslie in one and Seiji, his family and Meiki in the other,  
they were off to the Milton hotel, where their rooms were. Meiki was in the shotgun seat, enjoying the new scenery. She pulled out a camera from her bag and took a bunch of pictures of the big buildings and the giant New Years ball at the Big Apple. iWow...it's bigger than I thought.../i

"How are you liking the Big Apple?" Her mom asked Meiki.

"It's so big..."

"Yep. It is."

"Do you guys come here often?" She asked her.

"Every New Years. It's Ok to see the ball drop on TV, but to actually be there when it does, it's wonderful. New York is my hometown, where I met the love of my life. We had our first kiss right here when the ball dropped."

"Wow...where is he now?"

"..." She suddenly hears sniffling.

"Oh...I'm so sorry, I-"

"It's Ok. You didn't know." Seiji consorted his mother.

Both taxis finally arrived at the Milton hotel. The bellhop gets everyone's luggage and brings it inside the building as the families venture to the service desk. They are given their keys to their rooms. They all board the elevator, where the elevator man pushes their floor destination with the bellhop and their luggage behind them. The elevator opens and they make their way to their rooms. Unlocking them, each family takes their respective bags and tips the bellhop.

"Wow...this is nice." Alex said.

"Not as nice as our honeymoon," Angela replied.

"Nothing was as nice as-"

"Please stop," Leslie quickly interrupted.

"Right. Anyway, let's get settled in." Her father said, ignoring the subject. As Meiki starts to unload her bag, she sees a balled up piece of paper. iAlias?/i She unravels it and sees that there's something inside the paper. iMy badge.../i She looks at the note:

51 82 74 81 42 62 23 21 74 32.

iThat's what Sister Seira said.../i As she's looking at the badge, she notices a remote control. She grabs it, turns and presses the big power button. The entertainment center opens and the TV is revealed from inside a set of doors. The television flicks on, and the first thing that's on it is the news.

'This is Hector Martinez reporting from the Milton hotel. iThat's here.../i 'NYPD has alarmed us that there has been a murder...' iA murder?/i Meiki looks at the note again. This time, there's a different message:

23 73 43 61 32 62 32 83 32 73 81 21 52 32 74 21 22 73 32 21 52, 31 32 81 32 23 81 43 83 32.

"Hey, Meiki," her uncle said, walking over. "Do you see this?"

"Yeah..." Just then, Seiji knocks on the door. Meiki goes and answers it. "Hey."

"Did you see the-"

"Yeah."

"Right here under our noses..."

"I have to go investigate..."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm a detective, Sei. When I detect, I act upon it." She runs back to her and her cousin's bed and grabs her badge. She then sees the bow. She places the earpiece in her ear and runs out the door, leaving Seiji with a wave. He waves back as she makes her way to the lobby. 'Be careful, Meiki.'

To Be Continued... 


	20. Chapter 20

Case 20: The New Years Confession, Part 2

Meiki makes her way to the crime scene. Before she could make her way behind the yellow line, she was stopped by a police officer.

"Young lady," the officer exclaimed. "this is a crime scene. You can't just walk through."

"Detective Meiki Asuka." She shows her badge.

"You're pretty young for a detective..."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"You still haven't convinced me you're a detective..."

"(sigh)" She pulls her wand out. "Care to see a trick?"

"What does this have to-" Then, he's under her trick.

"Tell me what happened."

"From what I've heard from the detective," the officer said, letting her past the boundary, "this man was just on his way to his room when he was shot on sight. The problem is, anyone here, or in the entire city, could be responsible..." She looks down at the murdered victim. iBlood...so much.../i she thought, going back to that scene at the hospital on the Bloodboys case. "The detective has already checked the victim and found his information...and the bullet that killed him."

"Where is the detective?" She asked.

"Right here," a figure said, behind her. She recognized that voice. iIt can't be.../i She turned around slowly to see... "Detective."

"Alias? You're here?"

"Are you really surprised to see me, Detective?" he clearly stated.

"I guess not..."

"This'll be our first case together, Detective."

"I guess so..." Meiki's trance on the officer is released. "So, what do we have here?"

"His name is Peter Young. He's 32, a bank manager of the Big Apple Bank. That's all I could find on him. His bank card was missing."

"So maybe someone knew he was staying here and really needed the money."

"Sounds like another money case."

"Guess you've been through quite a bit of these, huh?"

"Enough to know the one who did this most likely works at the bank."

"Should we go there? They may be trying to take the money now..."

"That is a possibility. If they have the bank card, they could easily take the money AFTER the bank closes at 5."

"Yeah...you're right."

"Maybe later, then. I'm going to get some more info on the murdered victim. We'll be in touch." Alias exits the hotel. iWow, my first case with Alias.../i She goes back up to her hotel room.

"Hey, Meiki," Aunt Angela said, watching TV.

"Hey. Where's Leslie?"

"She's with your uncle, seeing the sights."

"So why are you still here?"

"We've been to New York and seen everything already, your uncle and I. Leslie wasn't born yet, though."

"Aunt Angie, when did you guys meet?"

"Hmm...let me see...I guess it was back in our college years...you don't want to know how..."

"Ok..."

"So, what brought up this question? Is it that boy?"

"No...well, yes...I'm so confused."

"So there's TWO guys?" She nods. "Come on, dish it." Meiki explains her current situation with both guys. "Wow..."

"I know..."

"This is a big dilemma..."

"I know..."

"Well, it seems you know quite a bit about both of them...Seiji invited you here and now you have your first case with your admirer...maybe you should know more, though."

"You mean..."

"Have a good time. Good luck. I know you'll make the right decision."

"Thanks." Then, Meiki places her earpiece on.

"Detective? I found some more information on our victim..."

"Please, do tell."

"He used to be 'the man of many disguises'."

"So...maybe an old grudge finally avenged?"

"And the monetary part could've been a plus...or not."

"So you're pretty much saying that the person we're looking for could be anywhere?"

"No. I have a feeling who it is..."

"Already?"

"Yes, but we need to get some more info about this man. He has a wife named Cyria. She's in Room 340. See if you can get some more info: suspects, enemies, rivals, anything."

"Right."

"Good luck, Detective." Meiki makes her way to the desired room. She was about to knock on the door, when she heard sounds. Thinking the widow was in trouble, she used her wand to open the locked door. She runs in.

"Mrs. Young, are you-" Then, she was shocked to see Mrs. Young kissing another man. "Oh my gosh..."

"How did you get in here!" Mrs. Young asked.

"Who is this? You're...having an affair!" Meiki concluded.

"You know too much..." She said, pissed off.

"So that must mean...you killed him...YOU killed your husband!"

"No, I would never..."

"Then, HE did it!" She exclaimed pointing at the cheatee.

"You think you're smart, huh, missy?" The guy said. "Mmm...kinda cute, too."

"Are you..." Meiki asked, totally weirded out.

"Maybe..." He walks toward her.

"Sorry, I'm having enough trouble as it is..." She said, pulling out her hat. "Here...a New Year's gift from me to you." Out of the hat comes ribbon(used by her mom many years back) used to wrap him up. "You disgust me..." After seeing what Meiki did with him, Mrs. Young headed for the window. "Alias, I think she's trying to kill herself...catch her if she falls down."

"You got it, Detective."

"If you take one more step, I'll do it."

"I'm not here to arrest you. I want to talk."

"About what?"

"Why did you have him kill your husband?"

"You may be a bit too young to understand..."

"Oh...I see..."

"It wasn't because of his money. He was a gambler, anyway. He didn't have any money."

"So why is his bank card missing?"

"What? His bank card? Well, I honestly don't know. I didn't take anything from his dead body...the only people who were there were the detective, and..."

"The police officer..."

"Right."

"I gotta go, but I have to take him with me." She cuffs the murderer and takes her leave. iSo it was the police officer who took his bank card...what a disgrace.../i "Alias," she spoke through her earpiece, "meet me at the front of the building. We have an officer to catch."

"Be there in a sec." He replied. Both detectives arrived at the front.

"The one responsible I have. Just take him to jail. My guess would be he's at the bank right now..."

"Let's find out," Alias said, making the man behind the crime disappear to the jail cell. He then takes them both to the bank. As Meiki suspected, the police officer is there with a ski mask and bags of money from the bank's vault.

"Freeze!" Meiki said, holding out her wand.

"Right..." He said, pointing his gun. "Like I'm gonna listen to a little girl. You should've stayed in your room..." She uses the wand to blind the criminal. "Ahh! I can't see!" The officer then fires a shot from his pistol and despite his eyes getting blinded, the bullet headed straight for Meiki's chest. Meiki watched as the bullet was heading for her. Frozen stiff at the action, Alias moves in front of her and takes the hit. He hits the floor.

"Alias!" She shouted, unblinding the crook. She ran to him, while the criminal grabbed the bags of money and headed for the door, but the doors were suddenly closed. "You're not getting away..." she said with her head down, trying not to cry.

"Ha! Says you!" He fires at her again and again, but she reflects his bullets with her wand. "What the-"

"One!" She shouted, waving the wand at him. Suddenly, the bags of money vanish.

"What the-! Give those back!" He said as the money reappeared in front of her.

"...Two!" She shouted again. This time, the straight cops gathered outside. He looks out the windows, seeing them, then, when he turned around, Meiki was right in front of him.

"Huh?" Meiki then does something completely out of her nature: she punches the guy's face, knocking him out unconscious. "Ugghh..."

"Three..." She finished. The cops came in the building and arrested him. The dead victim's bank card was confiscated and shredded. Meiki ran back to where Alias was, but saw that he was gone. "Alias! Where are you?"

"Don't worry about me, Detective. I'm fine."

"But...you..." She started, getting teary-eyed.

"Shh...I'm fine."

"Then, let me see you..."

"In due time, Meiki, in due time...go back to the hotel and enjoy your stay. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you, but you'll know...until then."  
iWhat did he mean by that?/i She thought.

To Be Continued...

End of Case 20 


	21. Chapter 21

Case 21: The New Years Confession, Part 3

iAlias...why?/i She thought, still thinking about what happened earlier that day. She couldn't sleep.

"Meiki, are you still awake?" Her aunt asked her not hearing her snoozing. She says nothing and tries to sleep.

When she finally did sleep, her dreams were all about him. She never dreamed of his face, because she never saw it, even while working with him for the first time that day. iI think I'm...no, wait.../i Suddenly Meiki envisioned Alias on one side of her and Seiji on the other. iSei.../i

"Meiki," Seiji said walking to her. She tried to move, but noticed she couldn't. Seiji approached her and she closed her eyes. "Meiki..." Seiji starts shaking her. "Meiki! Wake up!" She opens her eyes and sees Seiji. "Are you ok?" iSei.../i

"Yes." He pulls her hands and picked her up. She looked around. "Where's-"

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Meiki answered.

"C'mon, this is our last day in New York, but we haven't really hung out. So I asked everyone to leave us alone for today." Meiki blushes at what he just said. "You sure you're ok?"

"Yes. I'm sorry..."

"Get dressed. It is New Years Eve, after all...we have all day until 11pm, where we'll see the ball drop." iAlias said he was gonna see me tonight...I wonder what about./i Seiji left the room as she dressed. When she opened the door, he looked at her. "Wow." She wore her hair similar to her mom's alter-ego using the bow Alias gave her with a yellow spaghetti strapped dress with flowers at the bottom with a jeans jacket and black shoes.

"Where are we going?" She asked, snapping him out of his trance.

"Oh, right. It's a surprise. Here." He hands her a blindfold. "Put this on. You can't see it until we get there."

"Ok." She wraps the blindfold around her eyes. He grabs her hand and after an exchange of blushes from both of them, they left the hotel. iA surprise.../i Meiki heard Seiji call for a cab. When the cab arrived he escorted her in the back with him. As the cab drove off, Meiki is trying to find out what Seiji is planning...iHmm...well, the families are off, but it's not my birthday...it is New Years Eve, a party, maybe? Or they found out about what I did with the robber yesterday...yeah, that's gotta be it!/i Being deep in thought, she didn't notice that Seiji pulled her blindfold off.

"Meiki, you can open your eyes. I took your blindfold off..." He said. When she opened her eyes, she saw a carnival.

"Wow!" She said, looking around her.

"I'm glad you like it. We have all day passes to every ride here." He said, putting her pass around her neck. She blushed when he touched her neck. iOh my g-this is a d-d-d-ddate!/i She quickly concluded.

"Meiki?" Seiji said. Meiki looks at him.

"Is this a date?" She quickly asked.

"It doesn't have to be. It''s just that you're my guest and this is a special day, so..." He said, explaining. "it's ok if you don't want to go..." He looks down.

"Wait! I didn't say that...I'm just surprised, that's all."

"It was supposed to be a surprise..."

"Oh, right." She said.

"So...shall we go?" He said.

"Ok." Throughout the day, Meiki drove Seiji crazy going on every single ride at the carnival, but when he saw her smile, he couldn't help but blush at her, which made her blush at him. They couldn't look at each other without blushing. iThis was an amazing day.../i She thought.

"Hang on, Meiki," he said, stopping her by holding her hand.

"Huh?" she looks back.

"Watch." He said. As it got dark, the lights to all the rides, photo booths, games and concession stands lit up.

"Wow..." Then, Meiki noticed a photo booth nearby. iShould I ask him to take it with me?/i She looked at him, still staring at the lights. She blushed a bright red as she saw his eyes match the color of the lights. "Sei..." she didn't realize she said his name out loud and it caught his attention.

"Yeah?" He asked, smiling. Her face gets redder.

"I want to take a picture." She said, pointing to the booth.

"Ok." They walked to it and she stepped inside, but he didn't. iSei...you won't join me?/i She thought, slightly disappointed. She then grabbed his hand and pulled him in. "Whoa!"

Silence. They were both alone in a photo booth. Seiji noticed Meiki didn't let go of his hand.

"Meiki, you wanted to take pictures, right?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Oh!" She said, waking up. "Right." She puts the money in and pushes the button.

"Let's pose..." he said.

"Ok." As the camera flashed, they posed in 4 different positions...never letting go. When the flashing stopped, silence again.

"Is something wrong, Meiki?" He asked.

"...Sei..." She looked up at him and notice she was crying.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"I..." She started to say.

"Huh?"

"I had a great time today..."

"I'm happy to hear that." He said, smiling.

"You know," she said, wiping her tears. "this is our second date..."

"...so this really is a date?" he asked looking at her. Shy, she looked down and said silently:

"...yes." he's shocked to hear that. Their hands never let go as she grabbed his face and kissed him briefly on the cheek. iSei.../i He looked at her and kissed her cheek. Her eyes went wide and her face flushed a bright pink. iHe kissed me.../i

"Meiki," he said, pulling her head up and turning it towards him. She looked in his eyes and knew what he wanted to do...and she wanted it, too. They slowly closed their eyes as they are finally about to kiss...but they were interrupted by a group of girls wanting to get their picture taken. "Huh?"

"Oh! We're sorry..." One girl said. Meiki and Seiji both looked away from each other.

"C'mon, Meiki..." he said, taking her out the booth. iWere we really going to...kiss?/i She thought, touching her lips, then she touched her cheek and remembered he kissed her there. "We should be getting home."

"Wait!" She exclaimed. "Our pictures..."

"Oh yeah. Forgot." They take them and left the carnival. Then, Meiki's stomach growled. "With all that fun, we forgot to eat."

"Should we go back?" She asked.

"Ok." They went back in and ate at a picnic table. "This reminds me of the time we were at the mall."

"Yes. It does. It's just missing something," she said, smirking. Just by that gesture, he knew exactly what she meant.

"...basketball."

"Ready to lose again?" She said, smiling.

"No, but you are." He said.

"Bring it!" She said, running towards the hoops, pulling him with her. They both pay the man and are set too face off once again at the hoops. It was a 5-shot game. Score all 5 shots & win a prize. "Ready?"

"GO!" Seiji said, taking the first shot. Score. "Yeah!" Meiki shoots...scores.

"It's not over yet," she said, determined to keep her streak. However, her streak broke when he made the 4th shot & she did not. "You win this time..."

"Nice shooting, kid," The carnie spoke. "One more shot & you get a prize." Sei braces himself & takes the final shot...score! "Congrats, kid. Pick any prize." He saw a bear holding a rose & picked it. He collects his prize & gives it to Meiki.

"For me?" She said, blushing again.

"Yeah, hehe," He said, embarrassed. "We should get back to the hotel."

"Ok." She said, quickly wrapping her arms around his, .../i As they were walking, Sei, not looking where he was going, collided with a picnic table. "Sei!" When he fell to the ground, she noticed blood flowing out of him. "SEI!" She gets her cell phone & calls the ambulance, then calls the others. She held his hand all the way to the hospital.

The others arrived moments later worried.

"How is he?" His mom said. They all see Meiki crying.

"I don't know. They haven't been out since they brought him in..."

"What happened to him?" His mother asked.

"We were on our way back from the carnival when he tripped onto a picnic table...before I knew it, he was on the ground...bleeding..." She looked at the blood on her hand.

Meiki recognized one of the doctors that carried Seiji into the ER.

"Doctor!" She said quickly getting up to him. "How is he?" The families all join her.

"He's lost a lot of blood. I'm going to the blood bank to check for his type." Some time later, the doctor comes back but with no blood packs. "We seem to be out of his blood type due to a transfusion we did on another patient hours ago...are any of you his blood type?"

"I am," Meiki said. "I'll do it..."

"All right. Let's go save your friend." The doctor said taking her to the same room as he. She sees him. iSei...hold on please...don't leave me.../i She is seated n the other bed & her blood is taken & given to the patient beside her. "Make sure to drink plenty of fluids."

"Can we be alone?" She asked still looking at him.

"I'll come back with some beverages." He said, leaving. Despite feeling a little dizzy, she got up from the bed and walked to the chair beside ...what happened? Even with the way you fell, it wasn't that bad to leave blood.../i She looked around & then pulled off his cover a little to see a bandage wrapped around his abdomen. She also noticed the source of why he was bleeding. iSei...how did you get that.../i His eyes were slowly opening & when he looked to his side he saw her.

"M...Meiki?" She looks into his eyes.

"Sei...where did this wound come from?" She asked, still worried. He said nothing. "Sei...are you Alias?"

"Your...stalker?" He breathed slowly.

"That is the same spot that Alias got shot at back at the bank...you're him, aren't you?"

"...Yea."

"...Why didn't you just tell me?" She said, slightly angry.

"I know...how much you love...mystery...so I became one."

"Since the incident with the girls...it was you all this time?"

"I thought...you would've...figured it out...a lot sooner, Detective."

"That's how you were always there to catch me when I fell off the roof..."

"Yea..."

"What were you gonna tell me, Alias?" She said curious.

"...I was...gonna tell you...who I was..." He starts to get up.

"Sei, you shouldn't-" He pulls off the tubes. "Sei, please don't-" His head moves to her. "Sei, what are y-" She was suddenly silent. Very silent. Her eyes bulging out as his lips touched hers. iSei...I love you./i Then, she slowly closed her eyes and kissed back. They hear fireworks & shouting from outside as the New Year officially began. Seiji pulls away slowly. Meiki slowly opens her eyes.

"Detective..."

"I love you." She finally said to him. He smiles & kisses her again. Leslie watches from the window & takes a picture & sends it to Seira back in Japan.

End of Case 21 


	22. Epilogue FINAL

Epilogue

"I saw the picture! You kissed Seiji!" Seira said to her as soon as the families arrived at her house.

"Yes, Seira. I kissed him. I love him..."

"Aww...that's great. It's about time..." Seira said, smirking. "Meiki got some lips...mwah mwah!"

"Why you-" Meiki said, as they start running around. Seiji gets out the car & Sister Seira walks up to him.

"So you finally told her," She said, winking.

"No, she figured it out...like I knew she would." Alias spoke.

"Haha. She's definitely Asuka's daughter." The Sister spoke giggling.

"What I don't get is why it took so long? I mean 'Alias' is my last name backwards..."

"Maybe something else was on her mind..."

"Well, case is over now."

"Hey, Saila!" Meiki spoke to him.

"Huh? What is it, Asuka?"

"So you're better at magic than me, is that it?"

"I know a lot, if that is what you're implying," He said smirking. "Like this." Suddenly, a bouquet of roses fall onto her hands.

"Show-off." She said, walking away.

"And this." He said, making her appear before him.

"Don't think I won't challenge you, Alias...I will!" She said, making her wand appear.

"Uh-uh," He said, making it appear in his hand. "Now now."

"Gimme back my wand!" She said.

"Catch me if you can," he said, running off. She goes after him.

"Give it back! GIVE IT!" She shouted as he kept laughing.

End of Detective Meiki Asuka Jr. 


End file.
